


Hold Me Down

by trustmyr4ge



Series: Hold Me Down - Owen Grady/You [1]
Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Fluff, Past Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Smut, a few tears, owen grady is very cute, previous abusive relationship (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 20:50:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4320219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustmyr4ge/pseuds/trustmyr4ge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a crush on the park's only behavioural researcher turns out well, you become a very, very happy girl.</p><p>Takes place before the creation of the Indominous Rex.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Years Eve (pt. 1)

"I assume I'll see you tonight?" Claire said, looking at you as she collects some items off her desk and picks up her jacket from the back of her chair. Shit. Three months you've worked here, and three months you've known about Mr. Masrani's New Years Eve party. Yet, you choose to let them down on the day of the event. Great.

"I- uh- I wasn't really planning on going, actually," you respond warily, pushing the chair you had been sat on back underneath the desk. You'd spent the past two hours with Claire on a conference call with some potential investors in Japan; surprisingly, it wasn't the dullest afternoon you'd had at work.

Claire frowned as she cautiously looked you up and down. "Oh, that's a shame. Are you ill? You could've taken the afternoon off; God knows I can take a conference call on my own-"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," you began hurriedly, cutting her off, "I just don't really go out when I'm working. I mean, we've got so much going on at the moment with the new asset, and there's the new investors to think about," you shrugged and shuffled some papers around before shoving them back into a folder and handing them over to Claire. It was true, you did have a lot on, however you could happily watch the fireworks from your apartment whilst getting a head start on the health and safety forms for the new Indominous Rex inclosure. In second thoughts, maybe you'd just get an early night's sleep.

Sighing, she shook her head. "As your boss and as your friend, I am telling you to take tomorrow off, go to the party tonight and actually have some fun! Loosen up a little bit!"

' _Friend_ '. The word repeats through your mind. You hadn't really thought about Claire like that; most of the time you were a little intimated by her. Your experiences with her hadn't all been strictly work; occasionally you had joined her for a meal and a few drinks in one of the restaurants on the island, but you'd never really felt like you'd connected much. You suspected that the times when she had invited you out were probably just out of politeness.

"Plus," she chimed, smirking slightly, "I've been told Mr. Grady will be making an appearance," Claire paused, "which I suppose is fortunate for _you_ ,"

You felt your cheeks flush and your chest hurt at the mention of his name. Owen Grady. Ugh, how embarassing, you're like a kid with a silly crush. Worst of all, people had obviously started to notice. You knew Claire and him had history - to what extent you didn't know - which made the situation even more unbearable. You and Owen had only met a handful of times, but from your first interaction you were hooked.

As you struggled to find the words to reply with, Claire began walking towards the office door. "I'll come by your apartment at six to make sure you're ready," she called back towards you, "but don't worry about your thing for Mr. Grady," again, she paused, her hand on the door handle, "it'll be our little secret."

.*.*.*.*.

You perch yourself on a bar stool as Claire orders some drinks. The music is loud and the room is packed with people; the party is in the Innovation Centre, converted into what resembled a nightclub for one night. Lights and strobes flash around you from every direction as the walls, ceiling, and floor flashed from red to yellow to green to blue. You may as well have been back in uni again, you remarked to yourself. Fortunately you soon felt Claire back at your side, thrusting a fancy looking drink into your hand.

"What's this?!" you yelled, raising your voice to compete with the booming music. The bass was rattling your chest and you could feel the stool tremble beneath you. Well, at least Mr. Masrani's thorough.

"Something strong- you'll thank me later!" Claire briefly explained. You nodded appreciatively and sipped the liquid, wincing as it hit the back of your throat. "Not like it?" 

"Prefer beer," you place the glass back on the bar having finished it, looking round the room desperately to find another familiar face. Still no sign of Owen.

Claire brung her face close to your ear. "Stop looking so worried." 

You sighed, knowing she was right. Just concentrate on yourself. Just for one night. Easy. 

You tapped your foot along to the song playing. A song by an actual band, with actual instruments, finally. Wow, you thought, you really are turning into an old woman. 24-going-on-50...

"Oh, look who's here!" shouted a friendly voice. Thank God. You spin round to see Vivian and Lowery, two control room technicians, walking over to you and Claire. "Nice of you to show your face! What is this, the first time ever outside the office?!" Lowery joked, chuckling and nudging Vivian, who did not join is with his laughter.

"I think it's really nice you've came out, especially tonight. It really always is one of the best parties all year!" she laughed a little, forcing a smile. 

"Yeah, it's nice to be out for once," you agreed, suddenly remembering Claire's presence. "I guess sometimes I do let work take over,"

Lowery enthusiastically threw his hands in the air as he again began shouting, "And that's no good! So we're gonna get smashed!"

Vivian frowned at him, yanking his wrist back down to his side. "We're in work at nine," she reminded him, shooting a concerned glance in Claire's direction.

The four of you stayed at the bar for another three rounds of drinks before you felt slightly tipsy enough to consider a dance. Lowery and Vivian pulled you into the centre of the room just as Uptown Funk came on, which emitted a groan from the three of you before you started singing along anyway. Claire had been requested by Mr. Masrani himself, and so had apologised and left soon after Vivian and Lowery arrived. 

Several songs later and you were in need of another drink. Carefully manoevering around the crowds of people, you landed yourself back in a seat at the bar. The bartender poured you a glass of white wine as you dug around in your handbag for your phone. You hadn't checked the time since you arrived, but surely it can't have been that late. You unlock your phone. 22:12. You sighed, picked up your glass and took a sip. 

"What's with all the sighing, missy?" a man asks, causing you to choke a little on your drink. After composing yourself, you turned to the voice sat next to you.

"Sorry, Mr. Grady, you just uh- you surprised me. Just a little bit," you laughed quickly, trying to avoid further embarassment. How long had he been sat there for?! Nice, you think, now he probably thinks you're ignorant. Great.

"Why'd you call me Mr. Grady?"

"Sorry. Owen. Force of habit from work,"

"Yeah? You talk much about me at work?" He's looking right at you, grinning. Shit. You can't help but look right back at him. Bad move.

"Yeah, well, I, uh, not really-"

"I'll get you another drink."


	2. New Years Eve (pt. 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, I'm so excited for this chapter! Hopefully this is the start of great things for these two. I super appreciate any kudos and comments you leave me, this is the first time I've written something and actually stuck at it so that I feel like it's good enough to upload. I have a lot of ideas and I'm super enjoying writing this story, so hopefully I get to write everything I want to soon! If there's anything specific you want to see in the next chapters then leave me a comment! x

You spend the majority of the next hour wondering if your heart is going to burst out of your chest. That, and laughing. You and Owen hit it off as soon as you had another drink and opened up a little. He told you about his time in the navy and the park approaching him to train and research the Velociraptor pack. In return you described to him your growing up London and your time at uni in Cambridge, before you moved from country to country and finally landed a job as Claire Dearing's assistant.

"So that explains the accent then, huh?" he said, supping his beer. Meanwhile, your hand rested gently around the stem of your wine glass.

"Sure does. It's not that noticeable anyway,"

Owen gave one loud laugh, "Uhh, yeah it is. Shall we go for afternoon tea with the Queen tomorrow? Hip-hip, cheerio!" he mocked, raising his beer glass and sticking his pinkie out. 

You rolled your eyes and smirked back at him and swigged your wine, before copying his action with your drink and proclaiming " 'murica! Freedom and beer and _real_ man stuff!" in your best Southern accent.

Owen pursed his lips in consideration. "Six outta ten. Gotta work on that accent,"

You raised an eyebrow at him. " _I_ think it was a ten,"

After a moment of silence he replied "I think _you're_ a ten." You giggled as he smiled admiringly. This could not be happening. You were not flirting with Owen Grady, and he was not flirting back.

You look out onto the dancefloor and see almost everyone dancing wildly, laughing and smiling with friends and partners. You sigh again and drink.

Suddenly, Owen downs the last of his beer and stands up next to you. "Wanna dance?"

You look back at Owen and find he's staring intensely at you, eyebrows raised. A shiver runs down you as you watch his eyes. For a moment you could have sworn he looked you up and down, from your shoulders to your bare legs. Maybe it was just the light.

"I can't dance!" you exclaim as he grabs your hand and pulls you onto the dancefloor. As you look over his shoulder you spy Vivian and Lowery still in the centre of the floor, giving you the thumbs up. You smile sheepishly as Owen steps in closer to you, your bodies inches off touching, and you each begin to move to the song. It's minutes later when you feel him gently place his hands on your waist and you reach an arm around the back of his neck, closing the gap between you. Both of your dancing is clumsy, and your hips keep colliding with each other. Soon your bodies are stuck together and his grip on your waist has turned tight, holding you into him. You could die of happiness any moment.

Without warning a hand grabbed your shoulder, then Vivian's face appeared next to your ear.

"You're going to miss the fireworks!" she yelled. As expected, Lowery was at her side. He nodded at Owen in greeting, and he nodded back without breaking his grip on you. 

You turn your head back to look at Owen, silently asking for him to accompany you. He smiled and you each return your hands back to your own persons. You realise how bare you now feel without him touching you and you start to anticipate when the next time you'll be so close to him.

The four of you, along with most of the other party-goers, began to head outside for the show. Vivian and Lowery walked in front, hand in hand, occasionally moving their heads closer to each other to whisper. You and Owen brush hands as you moved, repeatedly until it's no longer an accident. He entwines his fingers with yours, still looking forward as the group of you leave the visitor centre and are hit with the cool night air. The temperature on Isla Nublar was always fairly hot, however at night there was a squeemishly cold breeze that, especially at midnight, was hard to avoid.

Eventually you find a spot on the Main Street that overlooks The Jurassic World Lagoon. More people start to gather around you, and it seems that the spot that you're in is the most popular.

"Wow," Lowery scoffed, "hey, ever heard of a thing called personal space?!" he snapped at a man who appeared to be stood more on top of him than next to him. The man responds with a glare, before he turned his attention away to join in with the countdown to midnight. 30 seconds to go.

Lowery was right, it was a good job you weren't claustrophobic. Owen still had your hand in his and was softly moving his thumb forwards and backwards over yours, looking up at the sky. Damn, he was good at being inconspicuous.

"Promise me you won't get startled and crush my hand without realising?" you laughed, looking up at him.

Owen scoffed, "No, no, that will not be happening. Remember, I'm from 'murica! I'm a real man!" He punctuated his sentence by pushing his chest out and hitting it.

"Yeah, okay, Tinkerbell! Let's concentrate on the fireworks should we? Just promise me that when you run off to cry you let me know first so I don't have to call the lost child desk," you remarked, poking his side.

He chuckled, "Hey, missy, you're getting a bit too funny for my liking! Cut it out before I throw you in the lagoon and we can see how much the Mosasaurus likes your comedy,"

Without realising it, yours and Owen's faces were again inches off each other. You smirked as you watched him look you up and down again. "Make me,"

Them last words tumble out of your mouth with the confidence you wished you'd had for months. Suddenly you realised the countdown was over, and the crowd shouted a simultaneous "happy new year!". A firework erupted in the air above you and lit the sky up into a hundred different colours. All at once, another firework exploded and Owen pulled you into a tight embrace before his lips collided with yours; you froze for a moment as you took in what was happening, but your hands quickly found themselves resting on his chest. One of his hands regained its grip on your waist, whilst the other held the side of your face steady into the kiss. As he deepened the kiss you pulled on his shirt to bring him closer and his hand moved from your waist and onto your other cheek, pulling you forwards. The pit of your stomach tingled, causing a little breathy moan to escape you. Suddenly you pull away to breathe, your foreheads remaining touching with his hands resting gently on your face. You catch your breath whilst he does the same, each of you smirking slightly. If only you weren't in public, the things you would do to that man...

The crowd starts applauding as the final fireworks start exploding around you. You both laugh slightly and Owen moves a strand of hair out of you face before quickly kissing you again.

"You're coming home with me. Y'know, so I can make sure you get back from the party safe,"

You hook your arms around his neck again and kiss him passionately again. "How could I refuse that offer?" you said, breathing heavily. Oh, what have you gotten yourself into?


	3. Beauty Sleep

You woke up to find yourself in an unfamiliar bed, tucked into Owen's side with your limbs tangled, skin to skin. Your head is on his chest, moving with the soft rise and fall of his breathing. Oh, God. Did you really do what you think you did a few hours earlier?

You move your arm so it lies across his torso and you start to feel the aftermath of your early morning activities. You shift your legs slightly so that one is still on the inside of his, and again your muscles treat you to the same pain. Could be worse, you think. At least you don't have a hangover. Closing your eyes again, you exhale a deep breath and try coax yourself back into your peaceful slumber. Everything felt so perfect, even your bodies fitted together like the pieces of a jigsaw. What was the catch? Was he about to wake up and slink off to work without ever speaking another word to you again? What if he woke up and didn't remember anything about that night? 

Suddenly you felt the touch of Owen's hand vanish from your skin, only to feel him slowly running his hands through your hair a moment later. 

"Y'know I saw your eyes open, I know you're awake," he mumbled. His voice was croaky and low and he clearly hadn't been awake for long either. You groaned and laughed quietly.

"I didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep," you said, kissing his cheek. 

"I'm not the one who needs a beauty sleep, hunny."

You scoff, sitting upright so that the bedcovers pooled around your waist, covering your lower half. There was no point trying to hide your bare chest from him, from the marks that his mouth had left on you, you guessed he was quite familiar with it. The thought made your body tingle.

Opposite the double bed was a mirror that you could see yourself clearly in. Shit, he was right. You'd clearly enjoyed your time together; your hair was messy and knotted whilst your eyes resembled those of a panda. Not your sexiest look.

"Oh, God. It should be illegal for you to see me like this," you whined, falling backwards into the mattress. 

Owen snaked his arms round you and pulled you close into him, kissing down your neck from your jaw. "You look beautiful." he spoke softly into your skin, continuing his kisses downwards until he reaches your breasts and moves back to kiss your mouth. You moan at his teasing; in a way, you were thankful. Maybe if you weren't so tired and achey you would go for round two.

"I need a shower, I stink." you say, scrunching your nose in disgust. 

Owen smiled lazily. "Only if I can join you."

You laugh, breaking away from his embrace and standing up outside of the bed. "No, if I'm going for a shower I want to actually get cleaner, thankyou."

He smirked and raised an eyebrow suggestively, propping himself upright with his hands behind his head. You start move across the room to collect your items of clothing that had been scattered around the bed. Whilst you do, you feel Owen's eyes on your bare skin, watching whilst he bit his lip. As you turned to walk down the hallway to his bathroom you hear his voice calling after you.

"Nice ass by the way, babe." 

The word 'babe' makes you smile as your mood shifts to elated. Things were definitely going well.

You shower as quickly as possible so you can return to Owen. You dry yourself off and realise you're going to have to return home in last nights outfit. You'd have to avoid as many people as possible on the way home; you wouldn't like the entire park figuring out what you got up to last night.

When you re-enter the bedroom Owen is in the same position as when you left. He smiles as you perch yourself on the edge of the bed next to him and start putting your black heels back on. 

"I called you a taxi back to the staff accomodation complex." Thank God, you thought. You hadn't even considered how you would get home. Neither of you were fit to be in charge of a car, and if it was a half hour drive you didn't want to consider the walk.

"Eager to get rid of me?" you ask. 

He hooked a finger under your chin and kissed you again, pausing for a moment. "Of course not."

You kiss him back, and before you know it he's pulling you back onto the bed and you throw your legs either side of him, straddling his waist. You feel his hand start to make its way under the hem of your dress when you break away from the kiss, prompting Owen to look at you in confusion.

"Not now. The taxi will be here soon," you said, motioning outside with your head.

Owen pouted and you kissed him again. Your hands remained either side of his face. "When will I get to see you again?"

"Are you free Friday night?"

You had to try hard to remember what day it currently was. Wednesday. Wow, he definitely was eager. In addition to that, the park was in its quiet season and visitors were low, and so was currently closed for weekends. Another night like last night so soon; you were a lucky girl.

You nodded, exiting the bed again. Owen smiled. "Good. I wanna take you on a proper date. There's a real nice waterfall a few miles down the road, it's a good swimming spot." 

Owen paused, noticing the panicked expression on your face. Oh. Well, maybe less sex than expected. 

"Or do you not swim?"

"Yes, I swim. That's just not what I was expecting our plans for the evening to be," you laughed, and he realised what you meant instantly. He must've had the same thing on his mind.

"Oh, don't you worry sweetheart, our plans can be whatever you want them to be."


	4. Daisies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gold star to anyone who gets the Parks&Recreation reference. ;)

It was Friday. You were due to meet Owen at 5. You and Claire were showing a group of investors round the enclosures for the third time that week, and you were praying that one of the dinosaurs would eat you just to end your misery. You were spared a moment of desperation when you reached the Velociraptor enclosure, and to your delight saw Owen. You exchanged no conversation but managed to share a quick glance and you watched helplessly as he winked towards you, then vanished back to his work. Ugh, it was unhealthy to feel like this for a man you had spent one night with.

The thought of seeing him again kept you going until you returned home dot on 5 o'clock, where you promptly changed into your bikini underneath your favourite dress that showed off your curves and a bit of cleavage. You admit, a bit of you wanted to look good for Owen, but a large part of you also wanted to feel comfortable yourself. Swimming wasn't top on your list of hobbies by any means.

You slipped on some flip flops and hurried outside, throwing your bag into the passenger seat of your Jeep, parked outside the apartment. Upon becoming an employee of a park you were gifted with a complementary vehicle, with regards from Mr. Masrani. Just another perk to the job.

You pulled up outside Owen's bungalow after a slightly dangerous 15 minute drive. As you arrived you saw him leaning against the outside of the wooden building, smirking as you hopped out of the vehicle and walked over to him.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming." he joked, his feet crunching the stones beneath him as he stepped towards you. "You look gorgeous,"

You giggled. "Thanks. I risked my safety at the speed I drove down here," you remarked. 

Owen caught your chin in his hand and pecked your lips. "Well don't do that again."

You began walking down a dirt lane away from his house, towards the waterfall. "Do you want to get food afterwards?"

"Wow, a swim and food. I must be lucky,"

Just like at the party, Owen entwined his fingers with yours without turning his head from looking forwards. "I said I was gonna take you on a proper date didn't I? No, if you were really lucky there would be a third item on the list." Finally, he turned to look at you and grinned and you couldn't help but grin back. His constant flirting gave you a glimmer of hope; maybe he felt the same way about you that you did about him.

You walked hand in hand for 10 minutes through woodland and fields, but you wished it was longer. Just being able to talk and listen to Owen was a pleasant experience by itself. He picked a daisy and tucked in behind your ear, and in return you did the same. You were wary about what his reaction would be, but he accepted the flower happily, smiling as he watched you place it on him. Daisies were your favourite flowers, and when you adorned Owen with one, you liked them even more.

As you came out of the forest, the clearing in front of you stopped you in your tracks for a moment. The waterfall was surrounded by trees and large rocks, but the pool was calm and tranquil amidst a meadow of grass and flowers.

"Oh, Owen, this is beautiful," you marvelled, looking round at the surrounding area as the sun tried its best to sneak through the gaps in the branches of the trees. 

Owen lead you to the edge of the pool before he began to pull his shirt over his head. You suddenly noticed that covering his broad, muscled body were scars. Some were big and noticeable whilst others were smaller and more easily hidden, as well as being different shapes. Most looked rough and jagged with the occasional one in just a smooth curve. 

He must've seen you looking, as he began talking as he slipped his shoes off. 

"I got them whilst I was in the navy, just some little souvenirs I brought back to remember it by."

His tone was sad and serious, but he still managed to raise his head and smile comfortingly at you. Without hesitating, you ran your hands up his chest and shoulders and onto his jaw before you kissed him firmly. Quickly his arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you further into the kiss, before he broke away but remained holding you in a close embrace.

"C'mon, it'll be dark soon and who know what's out there." He nodded his head to the side and raised his eyebrows knowingly. You laughed and pulled your dress over your head, tossing it down next to you. You took yours and Owen's daisies and gently dropped them ontop of your clothes.

Suddenly, Owen lifted you up and chucked you over his shoulder. 

"Got no time to waste!" he yelled, running into the pool until the water became too deep to stand in and you were soaked from the splashes. 

"Don't you dare drop me straight in the deep end,"

He froze and laughed awkwardly. "If you can't swim, now was a really bad time to tell me,"

"I said the other day I swam, didn't I? Or were you having a hard time thinking of anything other than me naked?"

"Hm. That sounds likely. Hold your breath." and with that, he tossed you back over his shoulder and into the water. It was cold but refreshing in the evening heat.

You emerged and laughed, wiping your hair out of your face. "Whatever, I'll get you later."

"Hunny, you'll have to catch me first."

You narrowed your eyes at him, then watched as he smirked and began swimming over to the other side of the pool. He swam at a rapid speed, and you followed behind him at a more relaxed pace. You could see his shoulder blades move with every stroke and his defined back and arms looked even more appealing under the speckled sunlight and a layer of water.

When you reached him you wrapped arms around his neck, a wide grin spreading across your face. 

"What's my prize for catching you?"

Owen hmm'd in consideration again, before moving towards you mouth. However, you stopped him and planted a kiss on top of his forehead, cheeks and nose, before leaving a trail of kisses down his neck and along his collarbone, purposefully avoiding his lips. He made a dissatisfied sound and he hungrily forced his lips onto yours, this time succeeding. You smiled against his lips, arms still wrapped around him. 

The next hour was spent in the pool, jumping off rocks and hills and kissing under the waterfall. You talked a lot, too. About everything. You talked about your favourite things, your families back in the US and the UK, and the future. Owen had so many stories and things to tell, you were hanging off his every word.

Somehow, you managed to ask him about the one thing he didn't have much to say about.

"So, how did you find dating Claire?" 

"How do you find working with her?"

"You didn't answer my question," you retorted, paddling over to the rock face next to the waterfall. You rested your back against it, and Owen put his hands either side of you onto the rock, keeping you right in front of him.

"You didn't answer mine."

You sighed, shaking your head. "She's nice. I've never really get the chance to get to know her, but she seems to know what she's doing. I couldn't do her job, she works too hard. Your turn." 

"We were never dating, we went on a date. One date. Safe to say it didn't work out and never will, don't you worry." 

You raised an eyebrow. "Was she really that bad?"

"She printed an itinerary off for the evening."

You laughed. "Oh. I'll remember never to do that then."

"You wouldn't anyway, you're not like that. I'm glad you're not like that." He leaned forwards and kissed you gently. "Are you hungry?"

You looked down through the water at your tummy. "A little, and tired. Maybe we should sit for a while, before I start getting cranky."

"You? Cranky? Never." He flashed a cheeky smile and you splashed him, before swimming together back over to the grass clearing.

You both sat next to each other, Owen leaning back on his hands and you with crossed legs. However, when he lay completely back you shifted to lie on your stomach, tracing your fingers over some of his scars. He moved his hand to brush your hair out of your face as he began telling you the stories behind all the marks he'd acquired. 

"I've never talked to anybody about them before." he murmured, absent-mindedly moving his hand to play with your hair. 

You gasped. "Oh, Owen, I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it then don't, just tell me to stop being so-"

Owen pushed himself upright so he was able to look right at you, stopping you mid-sentence. "No, it's important that I tell you things like this. I want you to know things - I want you to know everything - and I want you to do the same for me," he paused, moving his thumb over your cheek, "I know it's only been days, but I really care about you and I've never been able to be this comfortable around someone."

You were overwhelmed with feelings. You wanted to tell him you felt the same, but you couldn't get any words out. Instead, you smiled and lifted your head to kiss him. You broke away for a moment, but Owen had no intention of stopping. After pulling you on top of him you were straddling his waist again, now kissing passionately and messily. His hands were resting on your lower back, and yours were on his shoulders. Owen's lips moved to your neck, sucking on the skin slightly above your collar bone. The feeling drives you crazy, and you throw your head back in total defeat, his name leaving your mouth as a moan. 

The more he explores and torments you with his lips, the less you care about where you are or the possibility of a stray walker witnessing the things you were up to. 

Just as Owen's hands began making their way up the inside of your thighs, spreading them further as they went, he began chuckling. You raised your head and looked down your body at him, as if to say "what the fuck?" 

He looked back up at you sympathetically. "Babe, I'm really sorry. I just remembered I had a table booked for us at seven-thirty at Sunrio,"

You laughed. "What time is it now?"

"Around eightish."

You smiled and sat up. "That's okay. I feel like we should take this back to your place now anyway." you said, raising your eyebrows suggestively. He knew what he was doing to you, and that there was a better place to do it than here.

Owen got to his feet and held out his arms to help pull you up to yours. "If that's what you wanna do, sweetheart."

You picked up the daisies you had left on top of your dress, which had turned a funny shade of brown. You frowned at Owen and showed him the dead flowers. "Our daisies have died."

"Don't worry, babe, I'll pick you a million more flowers."

"Well I want a billion flowers." you said as he scooped up your dress. 

"Well I think that's a little unrealistic." he smirked, and you raised your arms above your head like a child. He slipped your dress over them, sighing. 

"I should be helping you get undressed right now, not the other way round."

He was right, and you wanted to do wicked things to him just like he did to you. You grabbed his hand. "Better get walking back to your place quick then, sweetie."


	5. All Yours

It had been three-and-a-bit weeks since the waterfall date. You and Owen tried to see each other as often as possible, going out for dinners and drinks, but with your ever-busy schedule the only significant time you could spend together were the weekends, and even then Owen had to check on the raptors at least once a day. You called each other when you weren't together and had a spare few minutes, just to talk and check on the other. 

You had the weekend free but had yet to make any plans with Owen, figuring he'd have said if he wasn't busy. You hadn't seen him for four days due to work, but you were trying not to get attached.

It was Friday evening and you had come back from work to your apartment with Vivian, and were now sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine and some beers. You had yet to get changed out of your smart work attire; you and Vivian had a lot to talk about.

You considered Vivian a very good friend, especially since the New Years Eve party. You both had apartments a few doors down from each other, plus Vivian was one of the nicest people you'd met at the park.

"So, how's things with loverboy?" Vivian asked, picking up her glass of wine from your coffee table. A sly smirk spread across her face and she took a sip of her drink as you smiled and rolled your eyes. You'd told her a lot about him, but you hadn't really caught up since just after that first date. 

You tucked your feet underneath you and shifted slightly, still smiling. "Things are good." 

"Just good? Wow, and I was starting to think you liked this guy."

You swigged at your beer. "I do like him." Vivian looked at you knowingly. You sighed. "Yeah, I like him a lot. But we're not serious yet."

"Yet? That sounds promising!" she chimed excitedly.

"I don't know, I don't know. We've talked about it, and we're just waiting for the right time," You laughed. "Taking things slow kind of went out the window after the first night."

"So you've said! I bet he's good though, isn't he?"

You giggled at her politeness. Vivian had a very innocent demeanour and she was especially against making anyone else feel uncomfortable or awkward, demonstrated by her vague attempt at questioning.

"What do you mean? Is he good in bed?"

Vivian nodded as she finished her glass of wine and picked up the bottle to pour another.

Of course he was. You got goosebumps just remembering the last time you were together a few days earlier- a meal at Nobu, your favourite restaurant on the island, had ended with an amazing night of some very hot and rough sex back at your apartment. Yeah, you really weren't good at taking things slow.

Your response was interrupted when Vivian's phone rung. She looked at the caller ID and muttered a quiet "Oh shit." 

When she answered she was instantly bombarded with questions and commands, to which she tried to stammer out a few responses. After 20 seconds she rushed to her feet as she put the phone down, grabbing her jacket and bag.

"I'm really sorry, that was Mr. Masrani," she said, looking panicked as she scrabbled through her bag in search of something. "There's been a really big mess up in the control room, obviously I'm the only one who can sort it out on my night off." she complained, her hand emerging with her car keys. 

You stood up and walked over to the door behind her. "Are you alright to drive?"

Vivian opened the door and stepped outside hurriedly, starting to quickly pace up the sidewalk to her car parked outside her own apartment. "Yeah, I only managed about two glasses. I'm really sorry about this- we're not done with that conversation!" 

You laughed and turned back inside as she disappeared out of sight. That's one thing Vivian had told you when you began work at the park; never believe them when they said you had time off.

You settled back down on the sofa and flicked the TV on, opening another beer. There was nothing interesting to watch and after ten minutes you had finished your beer and were gradually falling asleep.

That was, until a text woke you up.

You groaned as you flicked your phone on, holding the screen to your face. 

_**Owen Grady (1 minute ago)** _   
_Rough day. On my way over. 10 mins._

You realised that was the first time you'd heard off Owen all day, and immediately wanted to know what was wrong. Maybe something with the raptors, you thought. Or Hoskins. Ugh, what an asshole.

Owen had told you all about Vic Hoskins, who you knew as the head of the park's security force. Hoskins believed the raptors that Owen had raised and trained could be controlled and used as weapons. Of course, Owen was completely against the idea and held the belief that the raptors were never to be controlled for any reason. You agreed.

There was a knock at the door and you got up to open it. You couldn't help but smile when you saw Owen still wearing his work outfit too, and you realised he had obviously come straight over. His shirts top buttons were undone, and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, showing his strong forearms that you loved so much.

"Oh," he said, exhaling a breath as you embraced each other, still stood on your doorstep. "You don't know how nice it is to see you."

You both stepped inside and Owen sat on the couch, pulling you onto his lap. You handed him the beer you were drinking earlier, and he took it gladly. 

You sighed, running your thumb over his cheek as he drank. "What's wrong?"

"Idiot interns," he murmured. "Messing around on the catwalk above the raptors. One fell in and we had to go in and get him, otherwise he had no chance. The pack didn't like it, not one bit. Months of training wasted."

The park were really struggling with interns at the moment. The last one that worked with the raptors had quit when the health and safety risks proved too much. God knows how long the current pair would last- if Owen had anything to do with it, it wouldn't be long.

"Don't get mad, babe. Nothing you can do, it was an accident and at least now they'll have learnt their lesson, right?"

Owen grumbled, taking another sip of his beer. "Sure, but it's the pack I'm more worried about."

"You're their alpha. They trust you."

He mm'd in agreement, resting his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes. You could tell he was stressed and tired. You decided a change in subject was needed.

"What's your plans for this weekend?" you asked, moving your hand through his hair.

"Being with you, I think."

You smiled. "What if I've got things to do?"

Owen opened his eyes and looked at you. "Have you?"

You kissed his cheek, mumbling against his skin,"I'm all yours."

"That's the best thing I've heard all week."

You stayed like that for a few minutes in the same pattern; talk, drink, stop talking, kiss, talk. There was a comfort of being close to each other without having to be all over each other and not jumping into bed together at the first sign of any sexual tension.

Time seemed to have slipped away from you as you stood up, stretched, and looked at the clock. 23:54. You looked back at Owen, who already had his eyes fixed on you.

"Do you want to come to bed?" you asked, blowing out some candles on the windowsill.

"To sleep?" 

"Yeah, to sleep," you replied, laughing. "I'm tired."

He chuckled, getting to his feet as well. "Yeah, alright, I think I can live with that."

You turned off a few lights then guided Owen by his hand back down the hallway to your bedroom. You unbuttoned his shirt for him, throwing it to the floor when you were done. Owen returned the favour for your blouse and then helped you slip out of your skirt, before turning you round to unhook your bra.

"Owen?" you said, your bra falling to the floor. Owen mmm'd in response, his hands on your hips and his lips tracing kisses on the outline of your shoulder blade.

"Is now the right time to say I want to be your girlfriend?"

It was only a moment, but Owen's response seemed to take minutes. Your head buzzed a little bit and you were stood frozen on the spot, waiting for him to speak.

"Now, _that_ is the best thing I've heard all week."


	6. Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explicit smut! You have been warned! (Also as you can tell in this chapter, I'm a big fan of Owen using the name 'baby') ;)

Weeks past by, you and Owen were still in 'the honeymoon period' where everything was wonderful and pretty perfect. You had begun staying with each other a lot more, and on this particular occasion Owen had stopped at yours.

When you woke in the morning, you were disappointed to find your bed empty of one person. However, your door had been left slightly ajar and a sweet smell was making its way to you from the kitchen. You remained in bed in complete bliss for a while, the sun reaching its warm beams onto your skin through the slats of your blinds. It occured to you that the singing you could faintly here through the walls was not the radio or TV, but was in fact Owen. Oh, what a beautiful morning.

Your feet hit the floor and you picked up Owen's blue shirt, pulling it over your head so the hem fell to just a few inches above your knees. You button it up so that it showed off a bit of your chest but still left a lot for Owen's own imagination, rolling the sleeves above your elbows just as Owen usually did.

You wandered down into the kitchen where you found Owen with his back to you, stood at the oven in just his boxers. You smiled at the sight of him pouring pancake batter into a frying pan; singing along to whatever song the morning radio was playing. You stepped forwards until you could wrap your arms around him, placing a kiss on his shoulder.

Owen froze, startled, before chuckling and turning his head to kiss the top of yours.

"I thought you were still asleep."

You rested your chin on his shoulder, watching the movements of his hands as he gripped the handle of the pan. "Clearly the only reason I got up was for the pancakes."

"To tell you the truth, babe," Owen began, sighing. "I had no intention of sharing, but since you've come in here looking this good I don't know how I could deny you anything."

"Oh, stop it, please." You groaned, swatting his arm with your hand.

"Hm. You love it." He chuckled, wrapping an arm around you and planting a hard kiss on your forehead. He was right. You struggled to contain your internalised joy every moment Owen paid you any amount of affection.

When Owen had decided he had made enough pancakes, you sat together on the couch, one of his arms draped over your shoulder and the other lazily picking at the plate of food between you.

You half paid attention to the crappy Sunday morning show that was playing on the TV, occasionally you would feed each other a piece of pancake, laughing as most of it ended up on the floor.

"Oh, no!" You shrieked, half giggling. "That one went down my shirt!"

Owen scoffed. "Alright, hunny, first thing's first, that shirt is _mine_. I know you women have a weird thing for your man's clothes, but I'm keeping that one." He laughed, tugging at the sleeve.

"Alright, I'll remember that. I won't wear your clothes in future." You pushed yourself up off the couch, standing in front of Owen, hands on your hips.

"Effective immediately." He said, biting his lip suggestively. You swear your knees almost gave in at the sight.

You began to gradually unbutton the shirt. "If you say so, baby."

You knew you had his attention, so why not tease him a bit? Slowly you started making your way round the back of the couch and back down the hallway towards the bedroom.

Owen had his neck craned round, watching you the whole time. Before stepping into the room, you shrugged the shirt off, landing on the floor with a swoosh. You had been completely sans clothing for less than a second when Owen was off the couch, striding towards you with an urgency, or perhaps more with a desperation caused by lust.

Owen attacked your lips hungrily, pushing you backwards into the wall. His body moudled against yours, your hips pressing against each other. You could feel how turned on he already was through his boxers, which only made groan as you kiss him deeper. Suddenly he lifted both your legs, wrapping them around his waist, suspending you between him and the wall.

Your hands entangled with his hair and his hands moved to the small of your back as you moved into the bedroom. Owen plopped you down onto the bed, legs still wrapped around him as he stood above you. His lips move to your neck, then your chest, before capturing your right nipple between them, causing his name to leave your mouth as a moan. When he's done exploring your breasts, his travelled further down your body, his lips lightly grazing your skin as he moved.

All of a sudden, Owen broke away from you, leaving you whimpering with each hand gripping the bed sheets. Owen raised his hands to his hips, admiring what a desperate mess he'd made of you within a few minutes.

"How much of an ass would I be if I left you like this now?" He chuckled.

You raised an eyebrow. Oh no, you were not letting Mr. Grady get a one-up on you today.

"I can always take care of myself," you paused, grinning slightly. "Besides, I can see you want this right now as much as I do."

"Oh, baby," he growled, moving back up your body and hovering above your lips. "I'd love to know how you take care of yourself."

With that, you took Owen's left hand and placed it on the bottom of your stomach. You pushed it further down until it reached its destination. Owen moved back to the sensitive spot he had found on your neck; he knew exactly what he was doing.

He pushed two long fingers inside you, causing you to gasp sharply. Owen quickly moved back from your neck and gave you a concerned look.

"Too much?"

"No, no," you stammered desperately, squirming against his fingers as they ceased all movement. "Please, baby, keep going."

Owen chuckled at your eagerness. "Alright, baby, alright."

His hand regained its motion between your legs and he smiled as it clearly soothed you, causing you to moan again. Owen moved his face beside your ear and mumbled almost inaudibly into your hair, "God, I love those little noises you make."

As if the increasing speed of his fingers weren't enough, you were soon tipped over the edge when Owen's thumb flicked over you too. You breath hitched and your body tensed as your orgasm began to rock over you in waves that made your whole body tremble. Owen's name tumbled out of your mouth as a moan, before your breathing became ragged and unsteady and his pace slowed down to a stop.

Immediately as Owen's fingers left you, you whimpered at the loss of his intimate touch. However, you watched as he tugged down his own underwear and the bulge that had been in his boxers the whole time was released.

Grabbing hold of your hips roughly, Owen pulled you closer to him. "I'm not done with you yet." He growled. With little more warning, Owen entered you.

"Oh, shit." You groan, the overwhelming feeling of him fully inside you causes your eyes to shut and your hands to clutch desperately onto Owen; arms, back, hips, anything you could touch.

"I hope that wasn't a description of how I'm doing right now."

You smirk, kissing him. "Absolutely not."

Owen's thrusts start slow and deep, but soon gradually build up a fast, steady speed. Every so often he'll thrust a little deeper again and cause a curse to leave your mouth, but it was unpredictable. Obviously he had a thing for you being quite vocal.

"Babe," He half asked, half commanded. "Tell me what you want me to do to you."

You struggled to conjure a sentence between pants and moans. "Baby, I want you to fuck me."

Owen's thrusts stopped. His voice suddenly dropped lower than it had been, yet it only aroused you more. "I want you to beg."

You looked back at him, wide-eyed. You would say he had no idea what he was doing to you, oh, but he did. He knew how crazy he was currently driving you.

You move your hand to hold Owen's face steady. "Oh, Owen, please, baby- please, I need you to fuck me right now," You gasped as his hips suddenly started moving again, faster than they had before. "Oh fuck, baby, just like that."

You didn't last long like that before you reached your climax again, Owen's face close to yours, both moaning and breathing heavily. Your orgasm was relentles as Owen's hips continued through it. Soon, his body tenses, his fingers gripping into your skin. Your name leaves his mouth as a moan, and he reaches his own climax.

He collapsed on the bed next to you, eyes closing as he catches his breath. You can't help but laugh as you watch him.

Owen opened his eyes, smiling at you. "What?"

"The great Owen Grady, alpha, defeated yet again."

"Ooh, hunny, I like that." He paused for a moment, considering it. "'Alpha'. You should use that next time, it sounds hot when you say it like that."

You kissed his cheek. "Was I not good enough for you this time?"

Owen frowned at hearing you doubt yourself, even sarcastically. He caressed your cheek, "You were incredible. You're always so beautiful and amazing, I don't really understand it." He paused,thinking about his next words. A smile spread across his face. "I love you."

You froze, startled by his last phrase. You returned the smile and caught his chin in your hand, pulling him forward to kiss you. "I love you too."

You kissed again, before Owen stopped you. "Let's go out for lunch, then I have to go check the raptors. Okay?" He said, grazing his hand over your face to move a stray hair.

"That sounds nice, but I'm going to shower first. I'm not as wild and at one with nature as you clearly are." You retorted, standing up.

"I'm just so hungry, you've worked me up an appetite." He patted his stomach. His voice was dramatic and joking. "You're starving me. Hunny, how could you?"

"Next time put the pancakes in your mouth, not down my shirt, then we wouldn't have gotten in this situation." You replied, an undertone of sarcasm showing.

As you opened the door to head to the bathroom Owen scoffed. "That shirt is _mine_ , babe, don't forget it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter turned out okay! This was the first time I've ever written smut, so I hope it's at least a little bit readable and not totally awful. Thanks for kudos and comments! It really helps me out!<3


	7. Comfort (pt. 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wow! I think this has been my favourite chapter so far to write. Is it too cheesey? Who cares, I love it.
> 
> Stole a tiny weeney little idea for dialogue from the TV show Everwood, which coincidentally Chris Pratt also features in. I'll leave a link at the end for the clip I took some inspiration from, I think it's such a lovely scene, I couldn't help myself!

Later that morning after showering and dressing, and after applying a layer of make-up over the visible red-purple blotches that now adorned your neck and chest, you approached Owen who was waiting patiently by the front door. He raised an eyebrow as you got closer, crossing his arms across his chest when you were stood in front of him.

"If I wasn't so hungry I would fuck you again right now."

You laughed, picking up your bag. "Jesus Christ, Owen! Get your head out of the gutter for just a few minutes, can you do that for me?"

Owen smirked, grabbing your ass with both hands and pulling you into him. You rolled your eyes at him as he looked down at you. "I can't help it, babe, being with you just does things to me." He grinned. You couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Alright, but at the moment the thought of food is doing things to me, so if we could get moving right now I would be eternally grateful." You punctuated your sentence with a kiss on his cheek, and began moving out the door with Owen at your tail.

As you opened the drivers door of your Jeep (due to Owen's preferred vehicle being his motorcycle that you refused to ever go near let alone on, you were the designated driver for the majority of the time) you spotted Lowery on his way over to Vivian's. You waved as he looked over at you, smiling and returning the hand gesture. You watched him disappear into Vivian's apartment and you climbed into the car, Owen doing the same.

"Did you see Lowery?" you said as you started the engine, pulling onto the road.

"Yeah, I didn't realise he lived around here."

"That's 'cus he doesn't. That's Vivian's place."

Owen nodded slowly, thinking. "We should invite them out some time."

You smiled, looking at him briefly. "Yeah, that would be nice. What about Barry? I'd like to meet him."

Owen had only talked to you on very few occasions about his work colleague, Barry. You knew little about him, but he was Owen's closest friend and he only spoke good things about him. You'd been thinking about getting to know each others friends, it'd make things a hell of a lot easier. The few people you knew were pretty easy to get on with, how difficult could Barry be? Owen was a fairly laid back person, but he wouldn't put up with being around any shitty people.

"I'm sure we could arrange something with him." he said, smiling reassuringly at you.

You sat quietly for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable quiet. You didn't feel like you needed to fill every silence when you were with Owen, you could happily shut up and just appreciate being with each other or what was going on around you. 

You glanced towards him for a moment, and saw him gazing out the window, smiling seemingly at nothing. You turned back to watch the road, but moved your right hand to rest on the top of Owen's leg, moving your thumb back and forwards. "What's got you so happy?"

Owen chuckled, placing his hand gently on top of yours. "I just realised you're the first girl I've been with who's shown any interest in my friends, or wanted to get to know them. Which I think is pretty cool."

Laughing, you gave his leg a little squeeze. "Well, I'm honoured." 

You arrived at the staff parking lot just off Main Street, giggling when Owen walked round the back of the car to open the door for you. You locked the car, throwing your keys into your bag and taking Owen's hand when he held it out, waiting for you like a parent with a child. 

You walked down Main Street, Owen wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a white t-shirt and you in a blue thick-strapped vest, tucked into a pair of high-waisted black denim shorts. Despite the park being closed on weekends, a few restaurants and necessary shops like the chemist, grocery store and post office, were open for staff. Surprisingly it seemed a lot of the workers at the park had the same idea as you and had come out for lunch, yet it was nice being able to walk down the promenade without it being an obstacle course full with crowds of visitors, all pointing their cameras at anything that moved.

Owen picked out the first open restaurant you came to. You went inside and were seated at what looked like the only available table; everyone really did have the same idea today.

You both ordered your food and a few drinks, and you suddenly became quite aware of the two girls at the table next to you. From the moment you and Owen sat down, they had been glancing over and whispering to each other constantly. You felt your skin crawl every time one of them laughed or giggled.

"Got plans for this evening, babe?"

You were sipping your drink, focusing on the neighbouring table. You mumbled a response, something about watching a movie or whatever. 

"Any movie in particular?"

You ignored him, unintentionally. You were now so concerned with the girls next to you that any remaining focus on Owen was now gone. Straight away he sensed something was off and leaned over the table, closing a bit of the gap between you. "What's wrong?"

His tone was serious and low, snapping you back to him. You searched his face, yet it remained concerned and unchanging. You put your drink on the table, resting your hands in the middle of you both. "The table next to us is really pissing me off."

Owen turned his head to look over at them. The girls erupted into a fit of giggles at his glance, and he turned back to you. You raised your eyebrows, knowing he was now aware of what was going on. He picked up your hands, rubbing his thumb over the back of them comfortingly. "Just ignore it, hunny. I'm yours, remember?"

You smiled, nodding. Hearing him say them words was always a special moment, but now they comforted you more than ever. 

You continued chatting, laughing and flirting shamelessly back and forth after your food arrived. The more this went on, the more the other table seemed to die down. They now looked at you with an angry expression filled with envy. Oh, you thought, who cares?

You struggled to fill the emptiness in your stomach that had been left after the morning's activities, even pinching food from Owen's plate to help ease your appetite. He laughed as you stole pieces of lettuce and tomato from his salad. "Rabbit food, I swear."

Owen insisted on paying for the whole bill whilst you made a trip to the restroom. You walked through the restaurant and found the facilities, picking the stall furthest from the door. You had barely been in there 10 seconds when you heard two familiar voices enter the bathroom. Oh. Fuck.

"But did you see what she was wearing?" one girl exclaimed, the door shutting behind her.

"Oh, God, I know. You'd at least put a little effort into looking nice for a guy like that, wouldn't you?"

"Y'know, I've seen her around a lot, especially with Claire Dearing. Looks like she's got the best everything, best partner, best job..."

The second girl scoffed. "I feel bad for her, I bet her job's the only reason he's with her. She must get a bit of money. Maybe she has a hot best friend or something and he's just using her for that."

"Oh, no, he's the one I feel bad for. Did you hear her accent? I listened to it for less than an hour and now I want to shoot myself."

You felt your face flush and your eyes stung with tears threatening to overspill. They obviously knew you were in here, they practically walked in right behind you. You were desperate to tell them to shut the fuck up, but you just stayed there, quiet.

"Let's be serious, Jessica. They won't last more than a few weeks, tops. He probably just wants a few fucks, then he'll move onto to the next girl that walks by."

The girl, Jessica, giggled. "Maybe we should go give him our numbers now, save time in the future."

You heard their footsteps move back towards the door. "Oh, God, no. That's probably what she did. I mean, there's no other way for them two to happen, is there? And blow me if he asked her first." The girls laughed, then left. The door shut behind them. 

You exited the toilet stall, your anger making you tremble. You looked at yourself in the mirror - bad move. Your tears spilled over and you struggled to hold back sobs, covering your face with your hands. From just your first night of being with Owen you had been so much more confident and outgoing, and suddenly you felt yourself slipping back to square one.

If them two girls were saying things like that, what was everybody else saying as well?

You took deep breaths, finally ceasing the tears. You took some paper towels and dabbed at your eyes, clearing up the mascara that had smudged around them. Jesus, that was pathetic, you scolded yourself.

You left the restroom, making your way back to the table Owen was waiting at. He stood up when he saw you, grabbing your wrist when you got close to him. You couldn't see the girls anywhere. His eyes searched your face, his concerned look had returned. You picked your bag up from your seat.

"I saw them girls go into the bathroom behind you." he said, his voice low and close to your face. You looked down and nodded, almost ashamed of letting them get to you. Owen pecked your forehead, taking your hand and guiding you out of the restaurant and onto the street. 

You walked back to the car in silence, Owen's fingers tightly entwined with yours. He brought you round to the passenger side of the car, stopping before the door.

"C'mere." he mumbled, wrapping his arms around you, holding you into his chest. 

After a minute, you moved back slightly from the hug, keeping your hands on each other. You sighed, laughing slightly. "I'm so stupid." 

Owen took your face into his hands, firmly. "No you're not, don't you ever say that," He paused, caressing your cheek. "Tell me what they said."

You sighed. You felt like a student grassing to a teacher. "I should have put more effort into looking nicer for you, and apparently my accent made them want to kill themselves. I could handle them saying things like that, but then they talked about you and I just-"

"Baby, tell me what they said."

You looked over his shoulder, away from his face. "They said there's no way you asked me out first, and you're only with me because I have a good job that pays well. They feel bad for you having to listen to me all the time," You paused. "Also, you've only stuck around for the sex, and in a few weeks you'll be with the next girl that walks by."

You couldn't help your voice breaking on the last sentence, but Owen pulled you back into his arms again, your head tucked into his shoulder. 

"Fuck them," he said, his voice gentle next to your ear. "They're jealous. But they're jealous because I'm with a smart, beautiful, funny, hard-working girl like you who is an actual person with an actual personality," he paused again, turning your face to look at him, "rather than one of them two sleazes who are nothing more than a pair of boobs and an ass, who probably blew every guy on the island the first day they were here."

You laughed at Owen's last sentence, and he smiled comfortingly back at you. You kissed him, mumbling against his lips. "Thankyou. I love you."

Owen kissed you again. "I love you too."

.*.*.*.*.

Owen drove back to your apartment, and when you arrived he insisted you put your choice of movie on. 

"You won't like my taste in movies." you teased, crouched in front of the TV stand that contained all your DVDs.

"We'll see."

You searched through your DVDs, umm'ing and ahh'ing between every choice. You turned around, waving your copy of Dirty Dancing at him. 

He looked back at you blankly. "What's it about?"

You rolled your eyes dramatically. "You've never seen Dirty Dancing?"

He shook his head. "If it's actually about dirty dancing, I think we should take notes." he smirked, wiggling an eyebrow. 

You laughed, placing the disk into the player and crawling back onto the sofa, lying with your head in Owen's lap. It was a matter of minutes before he was playing with your hair, braiding little pieces before unbraiding them then braiding them again. 

After 45 minutes you sighed. "It's half way through and you haven't paid attention to any of it."

"On the contrary. I've been taking notes, remember?"

You laughed. Apart from the TV, it was quiet again for a few moments. 

"Is this movie the reason why you like it when I call you baby?"

You thought for a second, giggling. "I'd never thought of that. Unintentionally, yeah maybe it is. I like it when you call me anything though, babe."

Owen chuckled. "Okay, my little metriacanthosaurus."

"Stop that. You know that's not what I meant."

He smiled smugly, still fiddling with your hair. "Sorry, baby."

The film came to an end and you sat upright, stretching. You clicked the TV off with the remote, slumping back into the couch, head on Owen's shoulder.

"Talk to me."

"About what?" he asked, moving an arm around you and cuddling you into his side.

You closed your eyes. "Anything. Tell me something. Make me love you a little more."

Owen thought for a moment. You counted his breaths as his broad shoulders and chest lifted every few seconds.

"You wanna know what I was thinking about during that movie?"

"See, I knew you weren't watching it properly." you said, smiling lazily.

Owen closed his eyes and rested his head on yours. "I was thinking about when you kiss me, how long your eyelashes are and how they touch my face, and how your eyes light up when you smile and the little dimples you get when you're laughing. I was thinking about how your lips taste like the strawberry lip balm you sometimes wear, and the way you look at yourself in the mirror when you're putting it on," he paused, sighing, then smiling. You were smiling too. Owen's voice had reduced to a murmur, like he was lulling you to sleep.

"I was thinking about when you get out of the shower, you always throw your hair over one shoulder and strut around in the towel like it's a dress, and you always look so damn good. I was thinking about the little sounds you make when we're having sex and how much you turn me on when your breathing gets heavy, and how sexy you look after we've fucked. I was thinking about our conversations in bed, how hot your body is and your perfect boobs and butt. I was thinking about every phone call we've had, and how caring and thoughtful you are and how I always think about you when you're not around. I was thinking about all our quiet moments, like this, and all our loud moments when we're laughing and joking or out drinking. I was thinking about how upset you were today, and how mad it made me." 

Your eyes had been open for a while now, listening to Owen attentively. He sounded so lovely when he talked, his voice was slow and calm. You placed your hand on the opposite side of his face, kissing him once for a few seconds. You rested your nose on his cheek. "That's a lot of things to think about."

Owen smiled, kissing your forehead. "I could go on all day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! More up soon.
> 
> Everwood link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcswx4N83MQ


	8. Nine 'Til Five

February, March, April, and May all passed quicker than you noticed. Jurassic World's busy season had restarted, and so you no longer had the luxury of free weekends. However, when you reached your sixth month of employment with the park, Claire allowed you to be the boss of your own hours. As long as you were there for briefings, meetings and visits by potential investors and any other time Claire requested you and all paperwork was completed by its due date, you were free to do as you please.

Being able to make time for yourself was difficult enough without having to also keep up with Owen. The promise of being free to work basically when you wanted sounded wonderful to begin with, but when the onslaught of meetings and the number of documents you were being handed increased to an almost unmanageable point you realised that your summer was going to be work work work.

"I wish I could see you, hunny." 

You spun yourself around on your desk chair, your phone to your ear. It was a hot day, so you'd left the door to your apartment open. You sighed, exhausted. "Me too. God, this is ridiculous, it's been a week since we last saw each other. We haven't had sex in so long I swear I can feel my virginity coming back."

Owen chuckled down the phone. "Well, you were the one who insisted we took a break from having so much sex."

"Yeah, well," you muttered, tapping a few keys on your computer keyboard. "I didn't know what I was talking about."

"Oh, baby," he replied, his voice turning flirtatious. "Don't get mardy with me now. You know I can't tease you properly over the phone."

You bit the end of your pen playfully."How about I come over tonight? Do you think you could tease me properly then?" 

"Will your work allow for that? Because it would be great if it did, baby."

"If you got off the phone and let me do my job, I'm sure it would, baby." The word 'baby' sounded a little more sarcastic than you intended, but Owen laughed it off anyway.

You'd been worried lately that your tiredness and constant moods were putting a strain on Owen. You'd been snapping at him a lot more, yet he constantly insisted that it was fine. He once joked, "it turns me on when you get feisty."

Of course, Owen had his bad days too. Your first argument had occurred when he was exceptionally moody one evening after a particularly sour argument with Hoskins. It was a quiet argument, no yelling or smashing plates, which was a new experience for you. Your last relationship had been particularly violent, and you told Owen about it a few days later. He must have apologised a hundred times, and then made amends with an amazing round of make-up sex. You couldn't help wishing you argued more.

"Hm, you're right. Call me when you're done with work, I'll pick you up. I don't trust your weary eyes driving at night."

You laughed, rolling your eyes. "Alright, whatever you say. I love you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

You ended the call, placing your mobile on the desk. You looked at the clock on the screen of the computer. 14:36. If you worked solidly for another four hours, you would not only get today's work done but also most of tomorrows. Totally do-able.

An hour through, and it was not totally do-able. Every time you finished something, Claire e-mailed another to-do or another meeting schedule. You sent Vivian a text.

_**Your message (1 minute ago)** _  
_Please remind me why I took this job._

Your phone buzzed when Vivian responded.

 ** _Vivian Krill (1 minute ago)_**  
_You love your job. You love your colleagues. You love the visitors. You love the endless days in the heat sat at a computer. It's paradise here, remember?_

You considered a response.

**_Your message (1 minute ago)_ **  
_:(_

You wouldn't say you hated your job in the slightest; working on the island and in the park was wonderful, however every dream job had its downsides. You sighed, opening another e-mail from Claire. Looks like you'd have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

16:18. 16:43. 16:51. 16:54. Every time you checked the clock, time seemed to go slower. It got to five o'clock when you gave in, calling Owen again.

"You finished all your work?" he asked when he picked up the phone.

"No, just come and get me before my brain explodes."

"Ooh, you bad girl. Were you like this at school? I'd love to see your report card. I bet you were the super clever geeky girl who got away with anything, like not doing her homework."

Laughing, you started to log your computer off. "Come say that to my face, darling. Besides, what do you mean 'were'? Last I heard, I still am."

"You're right. You're super smart and that's one of the things I love about you. I'll be twenty minutes, can you survive 'til then, babe?"

"Unless a dinosaur eats me in the meantime, I think I might just be able to pull through, hunny."

You heard the sound of an engine start up in the background of Owen, thankfully it wasn't loud enough to be the motorcycle. His tone turned serious.

"That would never happen, babe, I'm the only thing who gets to eat you around here."

There was silence for a moment, while your brain worked out what he had just suggested. You gasped, giggling. "Owen!" 

He laughed. "Funny. I'll be with you soon, darling!" Then, the call ended. 

You yawned. Oh, there was no way you were getting tired now.


	9. Interrupted

You heard the horn of a car outside, prompting you to collect your bag and head out the door. Owen was sat in his Jeep, window rolled down with his arm hanging out of it. He smiled as you walked round the front of the car, jumping into the passenger seat. 

"Hey." Owen said, his voice breathy as he leaned over and kissed you. 

You pressed your hand on the side of his neck under his jaw, keeping his lips on yours. You sighed when you broke apart. "I've missed you so much."

"I know, hunny, I know." 

You rolled your window down as Owen started driving back down the road. 

"Fuck, why's it always got to be so hot? It's thunderstorm season, where are the thunderstorms?" you complained, fanning yourself. Almost eight months on the island and you still spent your time spraying deodorant and wiping the sweat of your forehead.

Owen chuckled. "It's Central America, babe." 

You groaned, rubbing your forehead. You were tired, hot, stressed and agitated, which were not a good mix. 

Owen put his hand on your the top of your leg, moving his thumb back and forth. Whenever you were sat together, this had become your regular comforter or reassurant. At least one of you needed it at almost every possible moment you could.

"Hey, take it easy. Breathe."

Like he said, you sat back into the chair and closed your eyes, taking deep breaths. You knew the busy months would take their toll, but not to such a huge extent where it was affecting your wellbeing. 

Them few minutes with your eyes closed must have been the most relaxed you'd been in weeks, as you were soon fast asleep whilst Owen continued driving. However, he didn't smile when he noticed you in your state of bliss. He knew that if you couldn't manage to keep your eyes open at half past five in the evening, something was wrong.

You remained asleep until you reached Owen's bungalow. He woke you gently, placing his hand on your shoulder and speaking quietly.

"Hunny, we're here. Are you gonna wake up, or am I going to have to carry you?"

You yawned, opening your eyes for the first time in almost 30 minutes. "I'm awake, I'm awake. I'm not even tired. What's wrong with me?"

Owen grumbled, opening his door. "You're exhausted."

He jumped out and slammed the door behind him. You followed after him, almost jogging to keep up with his large strides.

"Owen, slow down!" you gasped, coming up behind him. He spun around at the bottom of the steps leading to his front deck, a somber look on his face. Your shoulders deflated. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Owen repeated, scoffing. His eyes widened and voice raised slightly. "My girlfriend is constantly pretending she's not exhausted, when really her job is making her so tired and rundown that she can't function." 

You looked back at him open mouthed, shocked at his sudden outburst. 

"I can't stand seeing you like this all the time, you're practically killing yourself just to keep Claire happy! While she's out on lunches, parties and a few meetings every now and then, you're doing all the work."

You tried to imagine where the jolly, flirtatious Owen you were on the phone with an hour ago had gone. Obviously this had been on his mind for a while.

"That's my job, Owen. What do you want me to do?" you exclaimed, your temper suddenly rising. "Quit my job, lose my apartment, my car and all my money? Have to move back to the US or even the UK?" You paused, taking a breath. "Not only that, but I'd lose you as well."

Owen's expression softened as you looked at each other. He stepped forward. "I know how hard you worked for this job, but, hunny, I don't think it's worth it," he moved his hand to the side of your face, holding your gaze to his. "Just promise me you'll start looking at other jobs on the island, or at least arrange to speak to Claire about this."

You hesitated for a second, shifting feet. "Alright, I promise I will," you said. Owen pulled you in to an embrace, kissing the side of your face. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't, hunny. I plan on sticking around for as long as I can," he moved back so his face was opposite yours. "I just don't want you to be a zombie for all of it."

You rolled your eyes, laughed, then kissed. 

"I mean, a very hot zombie, especially in that dress," he nodded towards the dress you had on, "but still a zombie."

"Well this zombie is thirsty and is gonna ask her hot zombie boyfriend to go inside and get a few beers while she moves a few things around out here."

Owen whistled as he started up the steps. "Oh, baby!" he growled loudly. "I love it when you refer to yourself in the third person. Makes it sound like there's more than one of you."

You chuckled as he disappeared inside, and you began moving lawn chairs around the metal fire pit, pulling a small wooden table closer too. 

Owen re-emerged, carrying a box of beers and a speaker. He laughed when he saw you re-arranging the surrounding area of his bungalow. "Oh, sweetie, how nice- you've redecorated."

You smiled as he put the box on the table, then took his phone out, plugging it into the speaker. He shuffled his music, then took a beer and opened it, handing it to you. You sat in a chair around the unlit fire, Owen doing the same. 

"I forgot to ask- how are the pack?"

Owen swallowed a gulp of his drink. "They're good. They're listening to me more than not now, which means the training's paying off. Thank God."

You knew not to ask about seeing them. Owen was protective, of you, mostly. He told you how he worried even when you showed groups round the enclosure, when you were barely near the safety fence, let alone the raptors. You knew how hard Owen worked on them, and you knew how much he cared about them. They were literally his babies.

"Oh, shit, hunny, you know what I forgot to tell you?" Owen exclaimed, putting his beer on the ground. You lifted your bottle to your mouth, raising your eyebrows in interest.

"Y'know Melanie - the nurse - and Barry?"

"Yeah, yeah, we all went out together a few weeks back. They're such a nice couple."

"Yeah, well Melanie's expecting."

You gasped. Melanie and Barry had the same number of years between them as you and Owen, she was 24 whilst he was 30. Not that it mattered, but you felt like you'd wasted a few years of your life after hearing that.

"Holy shit! That's amazing!" you exclaimed, eyes wide in awe. 

"Yeah, I think Barry was a bit surprised." 

"But he's happy though?" you asked cautiously.

"Oh, sure. They're head over heels for each other, I think they were secretly planning it. They insist they weren't."

You laughed. "Either way, I'm happy for them. You'll practically be an uncle."

"That makes you an aunt." Owen said, smirking.

Giggling, you replied. "I love kids. When I was at uni I did some volunteer work at a foster home for children who were neglected or abused at home- it was incredible."

Owen smiled at you adoringly. "You'll be an amazing mom someday."

You looked at the ground in an attempt to hide your wide smile. 

"Thanks, hunny."

You didn't have a great relationship with your mother, you got on better with your father's side of the family after they divorced when you were 12. Your dad had always been supportive and helpful, whilst your mother preferred to criticize and complain. You felt like whatever you did was never good enough for her.

As the sky started turning dark and the day closed in, Owen threw some wood in the fire pit and started a fire. You turned on the strings of lightbulbs that hung from some nearby trees, lighting up the outside of the bungalow and the space around it. 

Owen came behind you as you stood at the table, covered with his mechanical tools for his motorcycle, opening your third beer. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him. He kissed your neck, murmuring against your skin. "Come dance with me, baby."

You laughed as you place your beer back down, turning around so you could drape your arms lazily around the back of his neck. His hands moved to your hips, keeping you against him. "I've told you a million times that I don't dance."

"And I've told you a million times that I don't believe you." He kissed you as you swayed a little underneath him. At the same time, you both realised how much you'd missed being this close to each other. Instead of breaking away, you kissed back with twice as much force, and Owen soon followed suit.

Things quickly got hot and heavy. Your hands started straying over his body, moving over his back. You moaned slightly when you felt both of Owen's hands move down to grab your ass, which urged him on even more. When you finally broke apart, panting for air, Owen's lips met your neck. His name left you as a groan, your hand moving to tangle with his hair.

You felt yourself being pushed into the table behind you, and Owen realised this to. He lifted you onto it, pushing the beer onto the floor along with his phone, then sliding himself between your legs so they were wrapped around him. Owen resumed his lips on your neck, causing you to gasp when his tongue and mouth graced your collar bone. His hand had disappeared under the skirt of your dress, tracing patterns on the bare skin of your thigh. You groaned in annoyance as you took his hand, placing it onto the waist of your panties. His hand hovered for a minute, teasing as he tugged forwards at the clothing instead of down.

You had shut your eyes for the majority of the time under Owen's touch, but opened them suddenly when you heard the sound of a vehicle in the forest.

"Babe," you whispered, almost inaudibly. Owen took no notice, probably taking it as a moan of pleasure. His lips travelled further downwards, now tracing over what little bare skin was showing of your breasts. You pushed on his shoulders, trying to get him to look up. "Baby, stop, I need you to stop for a minute."

Owen looked up, confused. "What? What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No, no, look, I can see headlights coming through the forest."

Owen looked over his shoulder at the two white streams of light that were illuminating the trees. His hands remained on your hips underneath your dress, as you both watched the vehicle get closer. He cursed as it became clear it was driving down the track to his bungalow, removing his hands from you and helping you off the table. 

The car was going at a speed that was unsafe, especially for how much light had gone and how tricky the track down to Owen's could be. 

When the vehicle pulled up, you realised it was Barry. You and Owen stood side by side and watched as he jumped out and jogged over. 

"Owen! I've been trying your cell for thirty minutes, man." Barry had clearly been in a rush, as he was breathless as he approached you.

"Shit- sorry, it was..." Owen's voice tailed off, looking over to where his phone once was, now on the floor. Oops.

Barry shook his head. "Doesn't matter, but we gotta go, right now." he started back to the car in a jog. Owen frowned, confused.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's not the raptors, is it?"

Barry opened the drivers door, nodding. "Hoskins."

Owen cursed again before turning to you and moving his hand to your cheek. "Baby, I'm really sorry but I gotta go. I'll make this up to you, I swear." he paused, exasperated. You knew this was something serious for Barry to be so panicky. "I love you, and I'll be back soon, alright?"

He started moving backwards as you nodded, a little bewildered by the speed of the whole exchange. "I love you, be safe, okay?" 

You watched on your own as he got into the car which then sped back through the forest it arrived through no more than two minutes earlier. You sighed, picking up his phone and sticking it in your pocket. 

You put the fire out, then went inside, settling in front of the TV. You weren't angry at him, how could you be, yet you were a little disappointed. Trying to spend more than a few hours with Owen was looking to be harder than it should have been.

When three hours past by and the clock turned to one o'clock, you turned the TV off and drifted down to Owen's bedroom. You were slightly nervous about his whereabouts, but not because you didn't trust him. You didn't trust Hoskins, and you knew that Owen would stay aslong as he had to if it meant convincing him out of something.

You unzipped your dress and clambered into bed, staring at the ceiling as you hoped for the sound of a car to return soon. You checked your phone once, then twice, before you turned over and stopped resisting the urge to sleep.

You woke to the sound of the bedroom door closing and a person moving through the room. They got to the side of the bed and took off some clothing, before climbing in next to you. 

"Owen?" you said sleepily.

"Yeah, baby, go back to sleep." he said, draping an arm over your waist and turning to face the same way as you.

"What time is it? What happened?"

"About four. Don't worry, everything's okay. Just go back to sleep, hunny."

You did as he said.

.*.*.*.*.

It was nine when you woke, properly this time. You felt Owen behind you, his arm still around your waist. You shifted so you were facing him but remained in a post-sleep state, eyes closed. Owen shifted slightly before being still again.

His breathing tickled your face as he remained fast asleep, showing little signs of stirring other than the occasional shifting and snore.

Half an hour past until you decided to actually wake up, and when you did, you gasped quite loudly and sat up quickly; waking Owen up as his arm dropped off you.

He murmured sleepily into his pillow. "What is it, babe?"

"Owen, what the fuck happened to your face?"

You were talking about the blue-black-purple bruise that now covered his left eye. It looked sore and painful, you moved your hand to caress the pink skin underneath it. 

Owen grumbled something like "oh, fuck" into his pillow again, sitting up next to you. 

"Does it hurt?"

"No, baby, I'm fine, things got a bit heated with Hoskins' is all. That man needed some sense knocking into him."

You couldn't help laughing. 

"I'm glad you see the funny side, hunny."

"No, babe, I just can't believe you got into a fight with the security personnel of the park."

Owen smiled, pointing at his eye. "You should've seen what I did to Hoskins after this."

"Oh, yeah?" you asked, chuckling again. You moved your hand underneath the bruise again, jumping back in horror when Owen winced as you grazed your thumb over it lightly. You whispered "sorry, hunny."

Owen lay back, facing the ceiling as you cuddled into his side, his arm around you whilst you rested your head on his chest under his chin. You would bother him about the raptors later, right now he was the one in need of sleep.


	10. Mel and Barry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, chapter 10 already! I hope the structure of this story is okay, I feel like by having little snippets of events from throughout their relationship it makes it easier to read as well as write! I now have a conclusion in mind for this story, so if there's anything you wanna see happen to them then leave me a comment, I'm open to any and all ideas!

In September, Melanie had reached her sixth month of pregnancy and you and Owen had received an invite from her mom, probably at the request of Barry, to their baby shower. They'd warned you that it would be less of a party, and more of a meal, with family and a few close friends invited. With the invitation they also announced that they'd be having a son, to the delight of everyone.

It came to the week before and you were sat on Owen's sofa with him, laptop on your knee, still trying to pick out a gift. Owen had his arm round your shoulders as you scrolled through pages and pages of items, contemplating furniture, clothes, books...

"Maybe we should just get them a gift certificate." you sighed, clicking onto the next page.

"You'd be lucky to find a place on this island that they could spend it." Owen laughed.

You grumbled. "Why is this so hard?"

"Because you're worrying too much about it being perfect, hunny. Pass me the laptop."

You scooted the laptop over onto his lap, resting your head on his arm. He searched a few things, and after a few clicks spoke again.

"What if we got them lots of small things that would help them out. Y'know, diapers, bibs, milk bottles, that stuff."

You smiled. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Good thinking, babe."

He laughed. "I'm pretty good at gifts, what can I say."

You patted his arm, chuckling. "Alright, don't get too smug."

Things had been going great between you and Owen the past few months, especially after you spoke to Claire about your work. She agreed that she'd left you to do a lot of the work without realising it was having such a big affect on you. In the end, she minimised the workload you were taking home which meant you were left with little paperwork.

Your days were more manageable with scheduled meetings and visits, and you had more time with Owen that was also enjoyable, mainly because you were actually awake. In addition to that, your sex life was finally existent again.

"Oh, your meeting's at two isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna get changed then start heading over there."

"I'm going to the raptors so I'll take you down, just give me a few minutes."

You smiled, kissing him. "You're very good to me, you know."

"'Cuz I love you," he watched as you stood up. "Plus, you can repay me later." He slapped your ass as you walked past him, gasping in surprise.

You pointed a threatening finger, struggling to hide your grin. "Watch it, mister."

Owen smirked as you walked down to the bedroom, searching through some clothes for a decent blouse and skirt. At least half your closet was now in Owen's bedroom, which happened to be quite helpful with the amount of time you spent at his place in comparison to yours.

"Ready!" you yelled down the hallway, applying some lip gloss quickly. Owen appeared from his kitchen, his hand in a bag of chips. "Babe, we literally just ate."

"I know, hunny, but I'm still so hungry." Owen said, shoving another handful into his mouth.

"Maybe you're pregnant."

"Ha ha." Owen said sarcastically, chucking the bag at you. You caught it, giving him the finger. He raised an eyebrow. "You're in trouble if I get my hands on you later."

You giggled, popping a chip into your mouth, then blowing him a kiss. Oh, you would make sure his hands were all over you later.

.*.*.*.*.

A week passed and you and Owen had arrived at Nobu, your favourite restaurant, for Melanie and Barry's baby shower. You had both been here on so many dates and nights out that you almost knew all the staff by name, meaning you were welcomed by both the party and the servers.

Melanie jumped up from the table (or at least got up as quick as she could with her now quite impressive baby bump) when she saw you both approaching them, hugging you carefully. Barry stood and clapped Owen on the back, then kissed your cheek. Melanie smiled at both of you.

"You both look lovely, thank you for coming."

"Take a look at yourself! You look amazing, Melanie. We're so happy for both of you."

She laughed, thanking you again before introducing you to her parents, brother, aunt, Barry's mother, sister, and a few other friends of theirs who you recognised from around the park. There was Chris, the T-Rex caretaker, Sarah and Dylan, both doctors, Andrew, a caretaker in the aviary, and Laura, a control-room worker. You all exchanged pleasantries before you and Owen took a seat around the long table, you on the right of Melanie's aunt with Owen next to you, on the left of Melanie's brother. Owen moved your chair back for you so you could sit, earning a few smiles and coos from the surrounding people. You were stuck in a big stranger-sandwich. You laughed to yourself.

You all ordered your drinks and food before the whole table was listening to a conversation between you and Chris, initiated by him.

"So you've almost been here a year now? I guess you haven't found it too bad since you've stuck around."

The table laughed, and you did so politely too. "Yeah, a year next month. It's been wonderful, a few speed bumps on the way," you looked slightly at Owen, "but it's been great. I have no intention of leaving any time soon."

"Well, if you ever get bored of what you're doing at the moment," Sarah perked up, "the infirmary are always looking to train up nurses and first-aiders."

There were a few 'ooh's as Melanie inquired further, and you at least tried to act interested. Owen had been quiet since you arrived, you were slightly worried.

You turned to him, quietly asking if he was okay. He nodded reassuringly, smiling. That was good enough for you.

Everyone bar Melanie was drinking, and once the drinks started coming the conversation seemed to ease up a little bit. You and Owen were in deep conversation with Melanie's brother, and Laura, who was sat opposite you. You were the four people sat at the opposite end of the table to Melanie and Barry and the majority of their families, so you took to socialising between yourselves.

Owen spoke for the first time he had all evening when Melanie's brother began asking him about his time in the navy.

"How did you go from the navy, to Velociraptor trainer at Jurassic World? Sounds like a big change." he laughed.

Owen nodded. "I guess it would have been, but I spent most of my time in the navy training animals, like dolphins, things like that. There was a job opening here, I was the only one stupid enough to take it." They both chuckled. "No, it's a great job. Working with the raptors for the past few years has been completely wild."

You sighed, rolling your eyes at Laura, who laughed. "Get this a lot?"

"Only every time he meets someone new."

"Lucky you." she joked, and you nodded in agreement.

"You must know Vivian and Lowery from working in the control room?"

"Oh, sure." she said, putting her glass of wine back on the table. "Nice girl, quite timid. Him - maybe not as quiet."

You chuckled. "That's them."

The two of you chatted back and forth until your food arrived, and Owen turned to you. "I'm sorry, babe, I feel like I've ignored you all night. Are you okay?"

"Hunny, I'm fine." you laughed, touching his hip slightly in reassurance. "Me and Laura have been talking."

Laura nodded eagerly, picking up her fork. Owen laughed, looking down at his plate wide-eyed. "I won't ask what about."

During the meal, Barry tried his hardest to communicate down the table with Owen, but had little success. Melanie's aunt seemed like quite a socialite, constantly interrupting different people midway through their conversation. Still, she had yet to speak anything to you, despite being directly next to her.

"What's the story behind you two then?" Laura asked, taking a sip of another glass of wine. You and Owen looked at each other.

"New Years Eve party." you said bluntly.

Laura nodded, smirking. "Oh, I see." she paused, thinking of her next question. "Was it like, an instant kind of love at first sight thing? I think them type of meetings are the sweetest."

You and Owen both hesitated for a minute before he answered. "Yeah." You snapped your head towards him, eyes wide. He laughed. "Sorry, hunny, guess I forgot to tell you the moment we met."

Laura giggled, looking at you. She was like a teenager in an adult's body. "What about you?"

You considered how to phrase what you were going to say. You could see Owen out of the corner of your eye, smiling at you. "I already liked him." you paused before adding, "I mean, before we properly met at the party."

Owen gasped dramatically, jokingly. "Babe, you mean you had a crush on me? That's so embarrassing."

You contained your laughter at his acting out of the situation. "Hunny, we're dating."

"Still." He smirked, winking at you. You chuckled, taking a sip of your wine.

Melanie's brother slapped Owen on the back, keeping his hand there. "Well, treat her right, bro. I can tell you two have something special."

Owen smiled, looking at the brother and then at you. "Yeah, I will. I think we do."

Deserts arrived after everyone had finished their main, and finally Melanie's aunt found her way to you whilst you were talking to Owen about the gifts you had ordered Mel and Barry, none of which had arrived in time.

"At least you got them a gift, dear." she said, glancing down the table to her nephew, sat next to Owen.

"Her child gets me as an uncle. No cot or amount of diapers can rival that, thankyou." he retorted.

You all laughed. Melanie looked across at you. "Don't worry, Owen, just give it to Barry at some point. We're both so grateful, presents or no presents." she laughed.

The evening was coming to a close as you sat with empty plates in front of you, drinking the last of the wine. It was a few moments later when you were a little shocked to feel Owen's hand, resting just above your knee as you were now engaged in conversation with Andrew.

Your voice hitched slightly as his fingers started tracing patterns on your bare skin. Over the past few months it had become increasingly clear that Owen had a thing for you and skirts.

His hand began to stray further up your thigh as you turned to shoot him a warning glance, only to find he was talking across the table to Laura. Sly.

Your heart began racing when his hand reached the hem of your dress, and you discretely shoved him off. He only had to wait half an hour, then you'd be in the comfort of home where he could tease you without being surrounded by your pregnant friend's other friends and family.

Sure enough, a few seconds later his fingers were grazing the skin underneath your skirt. You shifted slightly and coughed, trying to pay attention to all the things that Andrew was saying to you.

"Anyway, have you heard of a guy called Lewis Williams?" You shook your head. How was Owen still managing to sustain a conversation through this?

You coughed again, taking hold of Owen's hand this time and picking it up off your leg, placing it back at his side. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Dylan and Sarah were the first to thank Barry and Melanie for the evening and then depart. You exchanged phone numbers with Laura before she did the same, followed by Chris. Owen looked at you as you finished your drink.

"You ready to go, babe?"

"Mmm, I think so."

Before leaving you hugged Melanie again and said bye to Barry. Owen told him they'd catch up tomorrow.

You exited onto the Main Street and soon discovered that the weather had changed drastically since you arrived. The sky was pitch black, and it was raining, but not just a shower. As soon as you got outside, you were both drenched. You hadn't prepared for a total downpour, neither of you had jackets or umbrellas. At least it was still warm.

You took Owen's hand as he called a taxi on his cell. You weren't angry at him for his stunt in the restaurant, just a little frustrated.

As he got off the phone you began walking down the promenade, back to the road. There was a few other people hanging round, going in and out of buildings. All had something to protect them from the elements.

"I wish you didn't do that to me in there." you said, prompting a chuckle from Owen.

"Sorry, babe. I'll make it up to you soon."

You squeezed his hand. "You better."

He smirked. Wow. Owen made a good choice of a white shirt this evening. Did he know what the weather was going to do?

You reached where the taxi was due to meet you, but obviously you were quicker than it. You sighed, moving a strand of wet hair out of your face.

Owen leaned against the wall of the building you were in front of, and you stood with your back onto him. He put his arms round you.

"I can't believe you told Laura it was love at first sight." you laughed, placing your hands on top of his.

"Well, it was true." he said, kissing the side of your forehead. "I'd been with other girls before, but none of them made me feel like you did when I first met you."

"Is it bad that the only reason I went to that New Years Eve party was because Claire said you would be there?" you chuckled, leaning your head back onto his chest.

He kissed your forehead again. "Jesus Christ, I love you so much."

 

##### 


	11. Comfort (pt. 2)

Months ago, you had told Owen about a previous relationship you'd been it that had been pretty sour. Craig had been manipulative, nasty, and abusive. Your worst nightmares came true when one day you spotted Craig in the park.

You were walking through the Innovation Centre early one morning in late September, head down, focused on your phone as you read the text Owen had just sent.

**_Owen Grady (1 minute ago)_ **   
_You walking alright after last night?;)_

You smirked, typing out a quick reply. You had to admit, your legs were slightly achey after the wicked things he did to you the evening prior.

**_Your message (1 minute ago)_ **   
_Yes fine babe, thanks for your concern.;)_

It was when you looked up you saw Craig stood a few feet away, looking right at you. Your heart pounded in your chest. To begin with, you weren't even sure it was him. Why would he be here? What interest did he suddenly have in a dinosaur theme park? Unless the interest was less in the theme park, and more in you...

That's ridiculous, you thought. He wouldn't have known you were even here. Besides, there a young blonde woman stood next to him, linked arms. You watched him turn away from you and to her as she began talking to him, and your eyes shifted to the small child she was holding hands with. The boy must have been around four years old. Well, at least it wasn't his unless that was another thing he'd been hiding from you. 

You hurried to where you had to be, spotting Claire on the stairs leading down from the control room. You practically ran over to her, all the while being concious of where Craig was.

You reminded Claire of her schedule for the day; a meeting with Mr. Masrani regarding potential new assets at ten, lunch with some of the head personnel of InGen, two o'clock tour of the park with investors from Europe, five thirty back at the control room. 

"It would be great if you could come to the ten o'clock and two o'clock."

You agreed, and she then asked you about the following morning.

"Uh-" you flipped the page of your notebook. "Ten thirty tour for a few families with the VIP package."

"Think you could take that one for me? Super busy day tomorrow." she said as you both began down the stairs.

"Yeah, that's fine." you looked at the time on your phone. 9:30. "Should we get going?"

The meeting was as usual, Claire was her usual jumpy self around Mr. Masrani, and he was considerably calmer than the rest of you. You did your usual routine; smile, nod, ask a polite question regarding something about the welfare of existing assets or how the park will cope with the additional stress of new dinosaurs. Craig remained in the back of your mind.

You grabbed lunch in the staff canteen with Vivian and Laura, who you had both found a new friend in. 

"Seriously, imagine if we were all related?" Laura asked, shoving a few fries into her mouth.

You and Vivian looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Hmm," you mused. "If we were one big family, I definitely think you'd be the child, I'd be like the mom, and Vivian would be the aunt who is basically my personal therapist."

Vivian nodded in agreement. "Definitely the aunt. A cool aunt though, like the aunt who buys the kid alcohol and drops them off at parties."

"You basically just described your boyfriend, who is probably doing one of them two things this evening." you laughed.

Vivian pouted, but broke into laughter too. "He's like a puppy, constantly. It's adorable."

Laura leaned on her hand, elbow on the table. "You guys are so sweet. I mean, I've had to come to terms with the fact that I'm a huge third wheel in both situations here, but I'm totally cool with it."

"Oh, fuck." you gasped, raising your hand to your face. "I just remembered. Guess who I saw this morning?"

You told them both about Craig, your 13-month relationship with him, and how it ended.

"And now he's here."

Laura looked at you, wide-eyed. "Does Owen know, y'know, about the whole thing?"

You nodded. "Well, I told him we'd had a few violent arguments, but I didn't go into detail about the whole relationship." you shrugged, "I didn't want to worry him too much."

The truth was, it was more than a few violent arguments. For the last six months of your relationship with Craig, he had been verbally and physically abusive, as well as repeatedly threatening and blackmailing you. You managed to cut all ties with him when you moved from New York, where you lived with him, to San Diego, where you stayed for several months before landing the job on Isla Nublar.

"Owen needs to know. Seriously, this guy is a psycho. I bet the girl you saw him with has no idea," Vivian said. "and her son. Jesus, I'm worried for them."

You took another gulp of coffee. "To be honest, along as he stays away from me, I couldn't care less about him or whoever he's with." you said, expressionless. You had never felt this apathetic towards anyone before.

"You stay with Owen most nights anyway, don't you? Maybe make sure this week's no different."

Your phone started buzzing as you took it from your pocket. "Speak of the devil." You smiled, answering the call.

"Hey, hunny. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just finishing lunch with Viv and Laura. Having a good day?"

"I was anyway, but it's soo much better now I'm talking to you, babe."

You hadn't realised Vivian and Laura were listening to every word of the call until they giggled. You rolled your eyes, waving at them to go away. "I'm glad, hunny. I'll be heading to the raptors at about three, I've got a tour with Claire."

Owen grumbled slightly. "Just be extra careful on the catwalk today. Blue's feeling a little more protective than usual."

You sighed. He said the same thing everytime you told him you were coming to the raptors. You knew he was just protective of you, and you knew how unpredictable the pack could be. 

"Don't worry, hunny, I will." You glanced over at Vivian. "Babe, I've got something I need to talk to you about later."

You could tell Owen was frowning. His voice was concerned and serious. "Is it something bad?"

You hesitated. "It isn't bad in terms of having anything to do with us..."

Laughing, Owen replied. "That doesn't make me any less concerned, hunny."

"No, no, baby, don't worry. Honestly, just one thing that I need to talk to you about."

"Alright, babe. I've gotta get back but I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you too."

You put the phone down, sighing. You looked at Vivian and Laura. "He is going to go crazy."

.*.*.*.*.

It had just gone six o'clock, and you were perched on Owen's steps chatting to him as he tinkered with his motorcycle. When he was done, he came and sat next to you.

"What did you want to talk about at lunch?"

You sighed. "Remember Craig?"

"Angry ex?"

"That's the one."

Owen frowned. "Yeah, what about him?"

Again, you sighed. "I saw him in the Innovation Centre this morning."

His face snapped to be parallel with yours. "Did he speak to you?"

"No, but, babe, I didn't tell you the full story of what he did whilst I was with him."

Owen listened intently, expressionless, as you retold the whole six-month fiasco with Craig. For some reason, when you spoke to Laura and Vivian earlier in the day, you had little feelings for what had happened. You thought you had gotten over it a long time ago, and you hadn't thought about it for months because of how happy you were with Owen. Yet, as you talked to Owen, you felt your skin crawl every time you mentioned the bruises and marks that had once decorated your body, and the mental torture you had been through. 

"I'm really fucking scared of him, Owen." you said, your voice breaking. It had been going round in your head all day; what if he was here for you?

"Hey, it's okay, come here." he said, pulling you into him as his arms wrapped around you. His voice was gentle and calming, yet his body was tense and stiff. You could tell he was trying to suppress his anger, knowing now was not the time to share his frustration.

You wiped a few stray tears away, your head resting on Owen's shoulder as he rubbed a hand up and down your back comfortingly. "He's not coming anywhere near you, baby. It's okay."

You exhaled a deep breath. "I'm a grown woman, for God's sake, what's wrong with me? I was fine this morning."

"Nothing," he said firmly. "Nothing is wrong with you. He's fucked up. If he says one word to you I'm going to snap his neck."

You sat up, Owen left his arms around you. You asked him to stay with you for a few nights at your apartment, and he immediately agreed.

"Of course," he said, kissing you gently. "If it will make you feel better."

You nodded, smiling for the first time in about half an hour. "That's what I like to see." Owen smiled, kissing you again. 

"C'mon." you said, standing to your feet, urging him up with you. "I can reward you for being such an amazing, doting boyfriend when we get back to mine."


	12. Out of Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Whilst there is no actual mention of rape anywhere in this chapter, this chapter is largely revolved around an event a character does not consent to and someone forces themselves on them. Please skip this chapter if rape/sexual assault/non-con triggers you in any way.

You left the house the next morning, leaving Owen in bed. He stirred slightly when you got up.

"Where are you going?" he mumbled as you rolled out from underneath his arm. 

You walked over to your wardrobe and picked out a white blouse, tucking it into a black tight-fitting knee length skirt. "Work, which is where you should be going too." 

Owen grumbled as you put a pair of black heels on. You hated to admit it, but recently he had become a little lazy. More often he was staying in bed after you got up, and he'd been harder to motivate into going out and socialising. Hopefully his lack of energy wouldn't last much long.

You emerged back into the bedroom from the bathroom a few minutes later. "Are you going to at least get up and kiss me before I go?" 

Owen sat up, and you walked round the side of the bed to him. You bent over and kissed him and he moved a hand onto your cheek.

"Call me if anything happens or you need to talk."

"I will, hunny," you assured him. You kissed him quickly again. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. I love you."

"I love you too." he said, watching as you headed for the door. "I like the skirt by the way, hunny."

You giggled as you walked through the apartment, leaving out the front door. You drove your Jeep to the staff parking lot, then walking down to the Innovation Centre. God forbid you saw Craig again this morning. 

You opened an e-mail from Claire as you walked.

_**cd.parksoperations@jurassicworld.com - 9:14am** _   
_Hello, like I said, busy busy day today. I'm not around this morning so the VIP tour's all yours like we agreed, if you could head to my office afterwards I have a few pieces of paperwork that need going over ASAP. Have a good morning. CD_

You put your phone away. Oh dear. You could tell from the e-mail that Claire was in stress mode, probably having a few problems of her own. 

The VIP families were expected to meet you at the bottom of the Innovation Centre steps at ten o'clock. As you approached them, everything was as you expected. Looked like three families, all talking amongst themselves. 

"Hi, you're all here for the tour?"

The adults all nodded, a symphony of 'yes's were spoken. You smiled, beginning your usual spiel about yourself and the park, and how wonderful it was to have them here. You were exchanging a few handshakes when you looked at the third woman and her son. Oh, fuck fuck fuck.

You recognised them as the two you saw with Craig yesterday. You shook the blonde's hand politely. If they were here, where was Craig? You suddenly became very wary of what was going on, still trying to remain professional and smiling. "Any questions?"

Of course, the blonde woman raised her hand. "My partner isn't able to join us for another hour. Do you know whereabouts we'll be by then?"

You panicked slightly. "Uh, it's kind of hard to say. Depending on how fast we get on, we should be heading towards the..." you had a quick look in your notes. 

Oh, Jesus. Today was not going to be your day. 

"We should be heading for the Velociraptor paddock at around eleven."

As if having to spend a few hours with his girlfriend wasn't enough, you then had to meet Craig yourself. And he would then probably have to meet Owen. Perhaps you could skip the introduction to the trainers at each paddock...

.*.*.*.*.

Sure enough, an hour later you arrived at the Velociraptors. You and the group got out of the vehicles that had brought you, standing in an opening just a slight distance from the fence. 

"Whilst we wait for your, uh, partner," you said, motioning to Craig's girlfriend, "I'd like to mention how general admission to the park do not get access to this area. It's kind of like you're getting a look behind the scenes, if you will." A few parents laughed as their children looked intently on. "However, in the interest of safety I have to remind you these are live and dangerous animals. When we get up on the catwalk please keep your children by you at all times and never lean over the fence. Getting you out of there would be a bit tricky." You laughed a little anxiously, holding both your hands together in front of you. 

A few moments passed, before eventually another vehicle arrived. "Great." you muttered under your breath, the speed of your heart suddenly spiking. 

You watched as Craig appeared from the vehicle, walking towards the group. He smiled smugly as he spotted you.

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you'd be here."

Something about the way he said it told you otherwise. He continued smirking at you as you ignored him completely, talking to the rest of the group. "Let's go on, shall we?"

You climbed up the stairs to the catwalk, all the while simultaneously talking to the group and looking for Owen. When you reached the top, still unable to see Owen, you spotted Barry. You took the tour over to him, and he greeted you gladly.

"This is Barry, one of the two trainers here, and I'm sure he can tell you a lot more about the pack than I can." you laughed, looking at him hopefully. He nodded. Whilst a few of the families whispered to themselves, you stepped closer to Barry. "Where's Owen?"

"In his office, I think." He paused. "That's Craig, isn't it?"

You turned around to see Craig staring at you intensely as his partner and the boy looked into the paddock. You nodded.

"Creepy guy- Owen told me about him. Don't let him give you any shit."

"Tell me about it." you sighed. You thanked Barry and began back the way you came down the catwalk, shuffling past the group. You came to where Craig was stood and held your breath. You swear you felt his fingers run over your hand as you continued past him, which made you shudder. You never knew that even in heat like this, you could still find a way to get goosebumps.

You descended back down the stairs, disappearing round the corner out of sight to Owen's office. There was no one around, and you knocked on the door before trying the handle. Locked. Guess Barry didn't know where he was at all. You sighed, pulling out your phone to try his cell. No answer. "Goddammit, Owen..." you muttered, putting your cell back in your pocket. 

"What'cha doing all the way over here by yourself?"

You spun around, chest heaving up and down. "Mr. Bennett, you need to return to the rest of the group."

Craig scoffed. "'Mr. Bennett'?" he asked, looking almost insulted. "Don't pretend you don't know me."

"Alright, Craig. Let me spell this out- get the fuck away from me."

"That's no way to speak to a visitor. Me and my girlfriend are very valued sponsors of the park." He laughed, taking a step closer. You took a step back. "You always were feisty."

Again, he stepped towards you. You felt your back hit the metal of the building behind you. "I'll tell you one last time. Go back to the group and leave me alone."

He was now stood inches off you, looking you up and down. He inhaled a sharp breath. "I see you're still a tease, wearing skirts like that. God, you used to drive me crazy..." his voice drifted off and you froze as he ran he hands down your hips. You shoved him off angrily.

"Touch me again and I swear to God my boyfriend will be here any minute and he'll break your fucking neck. You repulse me." you spat.

Oddly, this only urged him on further. "No, you don't mean that, you want this as much as I do..." he pushed himself against you, trapping you between himself and the wall behind you. You felt his hands on the side of your body as you pushed him away again, this time trying to get away. You failed, as he reached out and grabbed your wrist. You cried out in pain as he yanked you back in place between him and the wall.

"Get the fuck off me!" you screamed, now loud enough for others to hear. He pushed his hips back into yours, one hand covering your mouth as his lips moved to your neck. You screamed again, but it was no use. You were on the edge of tears, realising what was about to happen. 

You squirmed underneath him, your hands desperately pressing against him in a final bid to push him off. He had all his weight on you, there was no way you could move. You closed your eyes as you were close to giving in, terrified.

Craig's other hand was now hurriedly and forcefully pushing the edge of your skirt up, when a voice yelled from behind him. 

"Hey! Get the fuck off her, right now!"

You heard feet running towards you and suddenly Craig's body was dragged backwards off yours. You gasped for air when the pressure of his hand was removed from your face, blinking away tears as you finally opened your eyes. In front of you was Owen, holding the collar of Craig's shirt. You watched as he thrust his fist towards his nose, breaking it instantly with an audible crack.

Craig doubled over, raising his hands to his face in pain. Owen pulled him back up straight again, landing another punch, this time on his eye socket. You gasped as you heard another crack. 

"Come anywhere near my girlfriend again and I'll fucking kill you, got it?!"

Craig nodded his head furiously, blood now streaming out of his nose. Still, you remained frozen against the cold metal wall behind you. Owen threw him to the floor, now looking at you. You couldn't speak, your whole body felt numb as you looked back at him, tears still in your eyes. He approached you carefully, not wanting to scare or startle you. You broke down when his arms wrapped around you.

"Shh, it's okay. You're okay, you're safe now." he whispered, running his hand through your hair. "It's okay, take deep breaths. That's it, you're okay."

Barry ran around the corner, freezing when he saw the three of you and your positions. "Oh, shit." He said, as he reached to un-clip his radio from his belt.

.*.*.*.*.

Mr. Masrani slid a cup of tea over to you, which Owen had politely declined the offer of, as he sat on the opposite side of his desk in his office. He clasped his hands on top of the desk.

"I'd like to thank you both for seeing me at such short notice, I understand today has been difficult for both of you."

You nodded, picking up the cup in front of you. Next to you, Owen looked out of place. His outfit was dirty and over-worn, and his big outdoor boots looked odd on Mr. Masrani's white carpet. He didn't seem to mind.

"Now," he began, looking towards you. "I want you to know that you are a very valued member of staff, as are you, Mr. Grady, and I am very sorry that this happened." 

You nodded again. You had nothing to say really. The only person you'd talked to after Craig forced himself on you was Owen, and really he was the only person that you wanted to talk to now.

"Thank you, Mr. Masrani, but it wasn't your fault."

"No, but it wasn't your fault either." he looked at Owen, then back to you. "You need to remember that."

Another nod. You took a sip of tea.

"Where's he at now?" Owen finally spoke, referencing to Craig. 

"Mr. Bennett was being seen to by first-aiders, then escorted out of the park. He will be leaving the island tomorrow morning with the other members of his party. We are cancelling any affiliations Jurassic World has with him or his partner." He paused, shifting slightly. "But we'd like to know if you would like to take further action against him."

You shook your head, putting your cup back on the desk. "No, I don't want to have anything to do with him any more, full stop. No offence, Mr. Masrani, but I don't have any desire to waste any more of my time having to deal with that man." 

Mr. Masrani sat back in his chair. "I understand completely. In that case, I think it's best you take a few days, get yourself in order, make sure you're ready to come back to work."

You sighed. You didn't think any of this was necessary. For a few hours after the incident you had been a little shaken up, but now you felt fine. You didn't blame anyone or have any need to express your anger, because you didn't feel any. You were tired, and you wanted to go home.

"I'm sure Mr. Grady will take good care of you. Take all the time you need."

Nod. Owen smiled at you, to which you managed a weak smile back. You both stood and thanked Mr. Masrani, then left. 

For the first time in months, you and Owen began walking back to the car without having some kind of skin-to-skin connection between you. 

"You can touch me, Owen, you know. I'm not going to freak out or anything. Actually, I'd prefer it if you held my hand or something right now."

Owen looked at you sadly, before you pulled him in to a hug. He kissed your cheek as you stood in the street, arms around each other.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he mumbled. "I should have been there quicker, I was on the other side of the paddock when I heard you scream. I was so worried."

"No, stop it." you said, pushing back from him slightly. You held his face between your hands. "If you didn't come when you did, it could have been a lot worse. I'm so grateful for you, Owen. I love you so much." You kissed him. 

"I love you too, so much."

"C'mon," you said, grabbing his hand. "I just want to go home more than anything right now."

"Of course." he replied, planting a final kiss on your forehead. Oh, how grateful you were for Owen Grady. 


	13. Paperwork Can Wait

October sixth, Owen officially asked you to move in with him. Coincidentally, it was also one year to the day of your first day at Jurassic World. 

You laughed when he finally said he would like you to move in. 

"Y'know I stay here most nights anyway, right? And almost all my possessions are already down here too?"

Owen placed the wrench he had been using on his motorcycle back onto the table. "But we never made it official."

You sighed, smirking as he moved up the steps towards you. You held your hands together behind your back and leaned slightly on the front door when he ran his hands up your hips and onto your waist, his face ever so slightly above yours. 

"We've never done anything properly though, have we?"

Owen smiled a little as he hooked his finger under your chin, kissing you. You couldn't help but melt beneath him as you let your shoulders relax, moving your hands onto his shoulders. He moved his face slightly away from yours, still only a few inches away.

"So is that a yes?" 

"Yes, of course it is." you chuckled, pulling him back to kiss you again. 

Owen sighed when your lips separated again. "I'd love to celebrate, but I have paperwork to do."

You smirked, mumbling against his skin as you pressed your lips to his neck. "You can do it later."

It didn't take much to convince Owen that his work could wait, as he threw his head back in defeat. You fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, eventually being able to let your hands roam over his bare chest. Very few times you were able to take charge like this, but it made you incredibly happy knowing that you could drive Owen just as crazy as he made you.

Of course, that didn't last long. Owen spun you round so that he was pressed against your back, his hips pushing yours into the wall in front of you (you'd realised several months ago that having you against a wall was a clear turn on for Owen.) Like you had to him, Owen began working on your neck as his hands sneaked under your top, sliding up your body before each settling on your breasts, squeezing them slightly. You moaned, head already thrown back onto his shoulder as you let him have his way. 

You moved one hand up to the side of his face as one of his hands begun travelling downwards. 

"Owen..." you groaned as his hand dipped under the waist of your shorts. He teased you as his fingers circled over the small wet patch that was now on the material of your underwear, making you thrust backwards further into him. You moaned his name again, and he chuckled.

"Someone's eager today."

"Oh, shut up." you half gasped, closing your eyes. "You love it."

The last word came out as a another moan as Owen's fingers began massaging your breast through your bra. Oh, how you wish there was no material between you.

"C'mon, baby, let's go inside." you whined, withering against him.

Owen groaned as he slipped his hand back out of your shorts, spinning you around to face him. You growled, stroking a hand teasingly over the bulge showing through his pants.

"Oh, someone's eager." you mimicked, smirking as his mouth parted slightly at your touch. 

He removed his hand from your breast, instead pulling your hips roughly back into his.

"Inside. Bedroom. Now." he commanded, then looking you up and down. "Leave the heels on."

You grinned, slipping away from him as you scampered inside. You loved how varied sex with Owen could be; slow and passionate after a date or if one of you was feeling a little delicate, rough and dominant if you were especially in the mood, or hot and fast and usually against a wall or on a table if you were feeling a little impatient. He'd had you almost everywhere you could think, in every way. On the floor, on the couch, against walls, in the shower, in bed, on tables and cabinets, you'd even had a bit of a fumble in the back of your Jeep once after a date went particularly well, and a few weeks later in Owen's office when you feeling a bit hot and bothered. Neither of you could help yourselves.

You reached the bedroom, already pulling your own top off over your head. You felt Owen behind you as he turned you around, pushing you onto the edge of the bed. He came between your legs as he unbuttoned your shorts, tugging them down your legs and over the heels he'd told you to leave on. He chucked them carelessly over his shoulder and you were left in your matching lacy red bra and panties, and also your red shoes. Very co-ordinated, you thought, congratulating yourself. 

Owen dropped his shirt on the floor, and you sat up to undo his belt. He kicked his trousers off, stood in front of you in his boxers. He moved towards you, kissing you deeply, attempting to move you up the bed. You pushed your hand against his chest, stopping him. "No, I'm on top today."

Owen smirked, hungrily kissing you again before moving back. "I would never argue against that."

You let Owen manoeuvre himself up the bed, settling with his back against the headboard. Today you were going to be in charge.

You crawled up the bed until you were kneeling with your legs either side of him, straddling his waist. You pulled him into another kiss, hand under his chin, as you let his tongue sweep your mouth. Restraining yourself was a little harder than you'd anticipated.

You began grinding on top of him, causing him to groan into your mouth. You returned the noise when his hands each grabbed your ass and remained there, moving with the slow circling of your hips. You pushed yourself up on your knees so his face was now opposite your chest, which he took the opportunity to kiss and suck lightly on. You couldn't help giving in slightly as you groaned, placing your hands in his hair. 

You laughed when you felt his hands tugging at the waist of your panties. You swatted him off. "Nope. Not yet."

He groaned as you kissed down his chest and stomach, moving back down his body. "Hunny, c'mon. You're killing me."

You paused when you reached his boxers. "Patience is a virtue, baby."

You shifted so you were now on the inside of his legs, finally pulling his boxers off, releasing his impressive length. As you took him into your mouth you heard another quiet moan escape him.

"Oh, Jesus." he murmured, throwing his head back in pleasure. You licked up his whole length, then popping the tip back into your mouth as you swirled your tongue around it.

Owen's right hand moved to tangle with your hair as you used your free hand to push against his hips. He was going to choke you to death if he bucked his hips up any further.

You bobbed up and down him before slipping your mouth off him with a pop. You looked up at Owen, who was watching you in awe. 

Without uttering a word, yours and Owen's mouths locked together hungrily as your tongues fought for dominance. You unhooked your own bra as Owen fumbled with your panties. You giggled as you had to break away and move awkwardly for him to be able to slide them off all the way. "See?" you laughed, breathing heavily as you pressed your forehead against his. "We can't manage to do anything properly."

Owen's lips found there way back to yours as one hand rested on your thigh, the other on your hip. You raised yourself up slightly again as you felt Owen position himself at your entrance. You lowered yourself slowly, arching your back as he slid inside you.

"Oh, God..." you mumbled, closing your eyes as you adjusted to the feeling of having his huge size inside you.

"Okay?" Owen asked, voice juttering slightly with his ragged breathing. 

You nodded, kissing him as you began moving slightly on top of him, hands on his shoulders. 

You started slow, but soon built up a pace as you rode him harder. Sweat began beading on both your bodies as Owen's hands gripped your hips forcefully.

You became a whimpering mess within minutes. "Oh fuck, Owen. That's it, harder... Oh God, Owen, harder!"

In the comedown from your orgasm, Owen shifts so he's above you. You didn't complain, you kind of couldn't wait for him to be the one fucking you senseless.

"Fuck, baby..." he moaned, thrusting back into you again. He mumbled as traced his mouth over your left breast. "So tight..."

Owen's thrusts soon became fast and hard, and you couldn't help digging your fingernails into the skin of his back as he fucked you relentlessly, his arms either side of you, pinning you to the bed. 

You felt a familiar feeling gathering in the pit of your stomach as you panted against him, Owen's forehead moving back to yours. He looked you dead in the eye as you felt his breath hot on your face. "Gonna come for me, baby?"

Them words pushed you over the edge as you cried out his name, tightening around him as he reached his own climax. He thrusts deep into you a few more times, your name leaving his lips in a mixture of curses and groans. 

He slipped out of you, rolling to the side of you to avoid crushing you with his weight. You turned to him, hand on the side of his face as you kissed him. His arm draped around your waist.

You nuzzled your face into his neck, lying in sweaty post-sex bliss for a few moments. 

You laughed. "Better go do that paperwork, hunny."

Owen grumbled, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arm tighter around you. "It can wait a little longer."

 


	14. New Years Eve (pt. 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, this chapter took so long to write but it was so much fun! I'm terrible for planning outfits, so in the end notes you'll find some links to how I imagined the reader's dress and hair to look. Final chapter of this part coming soon!

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe it's been a whole year."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, hunny."

You sighed, laughing slightly as you approached the steps leading up to the Innovation Centre hand in hand with Owen. You could hear the music already booming inside the building, which is one thing that hadn't changed from last year's New Years Eve party. This years party had a black-tie dress code, meaning Owen's only tuxedo was finally put to use. 

You, on the other hand, had to turn to Vivian and Laura for help on your outfit. After searching through Vivian's closet for several hours and raiding Laura's too you eventually settled on a deep purple dress, strapless with a love heart neckline. Laura gave you it more than willingly, basically suggesting that you kept it. The dress clearly wasn't cheap, so you politely declined her offer, yet thanked her anyway. 

You took it home over a week ago, yet you only let Owen see you in it for the first time before you left the house half an hour ago. You'd made a special effort with your make-up, however gave up on your hair after half an attempt of braiding a sort of crown round the top of your head. 

You made a disgusted noise as you flopped your hands down, landing on your knees with a slap. Owen frowned at you as he entered the bedroom. He had yet to start getting ready in any way. You were sat on the edge of the bed, focusing intensely on your reflection in the mirror in front of you.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't figure out how to braid my hair like I want it for tonight. We have to go in under an hour and I just really want to look nice and it's stressing me ou-"

Owen chuckled, interrupting you. "Calm down, babe. You're going to look amazing, no matter what." He motioned to the photo on the bed next to you. "Is that a picture of how it's supposed to look?" You nodded, passing it over to him. He took a few seconds to look it over before looking back up at you. "I can do that."

You spent the next ten minutes sat in your place on the edge of the bed, still staring in the mirror. However this time Owen was sat behind you, with you in between his legs, as he braided your hair. It took him a few minutes, but when he got the hang of how it was supposed to look, he did it without thinking about it.

You'd noticed a few times before that when Owen fiddled with your hair he wove small pieces into little braids, but you'd never questioned it. Now you'd seen him do this with practically no mistakes, you needed a few answers. 

"Babe," you said, turning your head to admire what he had done in the mirror, "it's perfect. How do you know how to do this and I don't?"

Owen shrugged, wrapping his arms around you and placing his head on your shoulder. "Two much younger sisters. They needed their hair doing by someone."

"It looks just how I wanted it, thankyou hunny." You turned your head, kissing him quickly. 

He kissed your cheek as you turned back to look at you both in the mirror. "You're welcome baby, it suits you. I'll teach you how to do them properly, then you can do them yourself when I'm at work."

You smiled, standing up. "As handy as that sounds, I think I prefer the thought of you doing my hair every morning."

"Hmm, I'll think about it. Before I sign up to anything, I want to see you in this dress."

You had to literally push Owen off you when you emerged from the bathroom in the outfit, reminding him that you had just got your make-up perfect and you were not going to let him smudge it fifteen minutes before you left. 

He pouted a little before kissing your forehead. "You look gorgeous. I'm so lucky." He pecked your lips once more before adding, "and I'm super excited for how jealous of me everyone's gonna be tonight."

Fourty-five minutes later, you were stood outside the Innovation Centre after realising it was twelve months ago you got together with Owen for the first time, and that's where things started.

"It couldn't be further away from a bad thing." you turned to him, taking his other hand in yours. "I have had the most amazing year with you, Owen, and I will be very very disappointed if we don't have many more." You smirked a little. Underestimate much? "I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Owen leaned forward and kissed you. He gently took your face in his hands. "Now, don't let me drink any whiskey after midnight, make sure I've got the keys to the bungalow, and I'll see you in the morning."

You laughed, returning to hold Owen's hand in your left and pulling the skirt of your dress up in your right as you climbed the steps to the Innovation Centre. 

Automatically, you could see the difference between this years party and last years. The atmosphere was calmer, and you felt more comfortable, but then again maybe that was just you. The DJ was still the same, which was a bit of a shame. 

You showed your staff ID card to the security stood just inside the doors and they nodded you through. Owen lead you round the room as you looked out for any familiar faces. Melanie and Barry of course were at home after Mel gave birth earlier in the month, so they were completely out of bounds for a while. 

"Hey, Lowery!" He had his back to you as you rested your hand on the top of it, moving round the side of him. 

"Oh, fancy seeing you guys here." he laughed, pulling you into a hug as he kissed your cheek. "Wow, you look great." You and Owen both smiled as they shook hands.

"Thanks, Lowery. You don't scrub up too bad either." you said, chuckling.

The three of you stood around chatting for a while, before Lowery excused himself to go find his girlfriend. "Probably got lost on the way out, I swear. We'll come find you in a bit."

Again, it was just you and Owen. He looked around the room, moving his hand to the small of your back. "There's some guys over there I haven't seen around in a while." He turned back to you. "Want to go say hello?"

You often thought about how much effort Owen put in with your friends, and how little you seemed to put in with his in return. You knew his best friend Barry fairly well, and a few other guys who worked around the raptors. Then again, your idea of being sociable was different to his. At least a few times a month Owen's friends stopped by the house for a drink, which wasn't all that bad actually. You always got an invite to sit outside with them, which you usually accepted. They handed you a drink and you watched as Owen pretended not to be as happy as he actually was. Men.

"Yeah, of course." 

Owen took his arm and linked it with yours as you wove round the groups of people now gathering and socialising throughout the room. You moved further towards the centre of the hall, realising no one was dancing. People only started arriving half an hour ago, you guessed no one was drunk enough yet.

As soon as you both reached the group of men, four of them, Owen was welcomed warmly. The group exchanged hand shakes with him before you were introduced.

"Peter, Ben, Jack, Henry, this is my girlfriend, [Y/N]. [Y/N], Peter, Ben, Jack, Henry." He said, motioning to each of the guys. You smiled as they greeted you, warm and friendly. 

"Wow, do you look like this all the time? You're a lucky guy, Grady." spoke Ben. You all chuckled slightly and you had to look at the floor to hide your smile. You felt Owen's hand reassuringly moving in circles on the small of your back, prompting you to look up as your smile widened even further.

You asked them about which parts of the park they worked in. Peter was a construction worker, as was Henry, you recognised Jack as the stand-by veterinarian for the Velociraptors after seeing him round the paddock a few times, and surprisingly Ben was a member of InGen's security team.

"You've got an accent," stated Peter. "England?"

You laughed. "Yeah, England. I'm losing it a bit though, hanging around all you damn Americans."

"You went to college over there didn't you, Jack?"

Jack nodded at Henry. "Five years at University of Liverpool. Veterinary Science. The worst and best time of my life."

"Oh, nice. I was at Cambridge. Three years of English then a year of management studies. I didn't really know what I was doing."

"Oh, Jesus!" Ben exclaimed. "You're smart too?! Grady, you're officially my wingman for the night."

Owen chuckled. "Don't put yourself down, Ben. There's bound to be a lady here somewhere who'll be drunk enough by the end of the night to find you attractive, bud."

Thankfully Ben had a sense of humour and was able to laugh off Owen's remark, but you could tell from the smirk on Owen's face that he probably meant it a lot more than you all thought.

You stood for another few minutes before Owen excused the two of you. 

"We're gonna head for the bar. See you guys around."

You did as Owen said and made your way over to the bar. You watched Owen as he ordered your drinks.

You didn't hear what Owen said to the bartender, but frowned when he handed you each a shot of tequila. "Oh, Christ. You know I hate doing this."

"C'mon, hunny. Look, I'll help you."

You chuckled as he held his hand out to you. Your eyes linked with his as you licked in between his thumb and forefinger, then sprinkled a pinch of salt on it. You took the shot glass as he held a slice of lemon in his other hand. He looked at you, grinning. "Ready?"

You nodded. Quickly, you licked the salt off the back of his hand, knocked back the shot, and bit into the lemon slice he was also holding. You winced as it hit the back of your throat, which caused Owen to laugh as he put the lemon back onto the plate it had come from. 

"Alright," you said, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. "Your turn, hunny." You put an emphasis on 'hunny', smiling sarcastically.

"You best give me a hand as well to make it even."

Laughing, you held your hand up to his face. He took hold of your wrist, pressing his tongue from the centre of your thumb and finger upwards over the top of your hand. You smirked as he looked up at you, wiggling his eyebrows. He took a pinch of salt, sprinkling a line over where his tongue had been. 

Without warning, Owen licked the salt, threw back the shot, and bit into the lemon you were holding. He finished without hardly flinching.

"Now was that really that bad?" he laughed, putting an arm around the back of your waist.

You had to admit, you loved it when Owen was affectionate like this in public. He rarely cracked a smile in public or around people he didn't know, and especially not around people he didn't like. Unless he was laughing at them. 

"No, it was bearable." You smirked teasingly. 

You ended up doing another two of the same shots. It became less bearable.

"Jesus, I'm done. What time is it?"

Owen looked at his watch, smiling. "Eight fourty-five. You eager for the year to be over or somethin'?"

"Definitely not, babe. Just curious."

He hmm'd for a moment, narrowing his eyes and smirking at you as he placed both hands on your hips. You swayed your them side to side slightly, looking back at him. 

"Before you ask, no, I don't want to dance. I'm no where near drunk enough yet."

Owen raised his eyebrows, looking behind you. "That's a shame, babe. I can see Vivian and Lowery and them all in the middle dancing right now, but I guess we can do another shot if you want?"

He grinned knowingly as you turned to look behind you. Goddammit. There they all were, in the middle of the floor, dancing away to whatever song was playing. You rolled your eyes at Owen, who then took your hand and started over to the centre of the room.

Vivian and Laura both hugged you when they saw you. 

"Oh God, you both look gorgeous!" you exclaimed, looking them up and down. Vivian was wearing a red floor length dress with one shoulder strap, whilst Laura wore a similar dress that was black and had both straps. They did both look amazing.

"We all look great, don't we?" said Laura, laughing. "That includes you two, Owen and Lowery." she added, rolling her eyes at them.

Owen and Lowery chuckled, and you watched as Lowery looked at his girlfriend admiringly. To be honest, when he was acting his age for once, Lowery was quite an attractive guy. He was nice, funny and good looking, but had a slight immaturity about him that made you think twice.

You gasped as the next song came on. Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars. You had spent many evenings singing along to Bruno with Vivian, who was laughing, pointing at you. "Oh, here we go! This is what we've been waiting for!" 

You sang along to the whole first verse with Vivian and Laura when she joined in, dancing around, pointing at each other, laughing a lot. You happened to spin around when the song reached the first chorus, and saw Owen grinning at you madly with his hands on his hips. You stepped towards him, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck as you belted out the rest of the chorus. The next time around, you pressed your forehead to his during the "your sex takes me to paradise" part of the pre-chorus. You couldn't help yourself, really. If he was being quite open about your relationship in front of people tonight, why couldn't you?

You finished your sort-of serenade with a kiss, smiling against his lips. You felt so happy.

You turned around, one arm around Owen's waist, all five of you laughing. You hadn't seen Lowery dancing, but it was obvious he had been from his heavy breathing. 

You think you heard Laura say she was going to get some drinks as she disappeared. You looked at Vivian, concerned. "Is she okay?" you mouthed to her. She nodded reassuringly as she put her arm around Lowery. You'd seen them kiss and hug and be close before, but this time you kind of just looked at them for a minute, praying your mouth wasn't hanging open.

When Laura returned, the drinks kept flowing. Shots, more shots, cocktails, beers, somehow the five of you managed to drink everything at least once. At one point, a gentleman came over to Laura and asked her to dance. You all gave her the thumbs up, and she was swooped off. You didn't give it a second thought, due to the fact you were getting pretty hammered. Owen had insisted all day that you ate something before you left the house so that it would "absorb the drink and you wouldn't end up shit-faced without any memories of the night". Of course, you forgot.

At some point around eleven thirty, you and Owen both recognised the song Come and Get Your Love by Redbone from the first few chords. You had been preparing for this moment for your entire relationship; Owen sung this song in the shower, in the kitchen, while he was fixing his bike, everywhere he went when it came on the radio, and as a result you had come to know it too. You had both danced to it in the living room in your underwear, made out to it in the bedroom, quoted lyrics from it in texts and phonecalls. This song was, in essence, your anthem.

Owen grabbed your hips, pulling them against his as he smirked. You moved them in time to the song, grinding on him slightly. You couldn't keep your hands still, letting them roam from his neck to his arms then to his chest, back up to his shoulders, onto the sides of his face. You threw your head back, singing louder than you had all night, and Owen joined you. He took the main vocals whilst you did the echo and backing voices. His hands strayed from the sides of your hips to dangerously low on your back. You didn't mind, grinning and laughing all the way through it. It seemed everyone who was dancing were having a similar experience; around you people chanted along to the chorus, raising their drinks with their friends or dancing with their partners.

The song finished and you wrapped your arms back around Owen's neck, pulling him into a tight hug. He kissed the side of your face and wrapped his arms around your waist as you stayed like that for a few moments, appreciating being close to each other and how much you were enjoying yourselves. 

"We're going outside for a bit before the fireworks," Vivian said, putting her hand on your shoulder as you moved back from Owen. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Owen answered. "We'll follow you out."

You walked in a single line, which was the only option for slaloming through the sea of people that were now on the dancefloor. Owen was behind you, at the back of the line as you trailed outside.

As soon as you met the open air, you threw an arm around Vivian's side. You sighed, resting your head on your shoulder as you slowly made your way down the promenade. 

"Vivian, I love you." 

"Aww," Vivian replied, resting her head on top of yours. "I love you too."

"We should watch the fireworks in the same spot as last year."

Vivian mumbled in agreement. "Yeah, we can't break tradition now!"

You both laughed, returning to stand normally. "Where the fuck is Laura?"

"Grinding on some guy that is probably now offering her his hand in marriage."

"Oh, Jesus." you said, trying to hold back your laughter. You stopped in your paces. "We should really go find her."

"No, no, c'mon, look, she'll be fine." said Vivian. "She does this all the time, doesn't she? I'll text her in a minute, anyway."

"Mmm... okay." you said, hesitantly. You looked behind you, looking at Owen as him and Lowery walked behind you, deep in conversation. They were both laughing and grinning when Owen looked up at you.

"What's up, baby?"

"Nothin', just waiting for you two slow coaches." you smirked.

"Well, do not fear." Lowery said, putting an arm around Vivian. "We're here now."

Laughing, Owen moved next to you and entwined his fingers with yours. You started walking again, the four of you chatting back and forth.

You reached the spot overlooking the Jurassic World Lagoon, the same place you were last year. 

"Fuck," you whined, leaning against the wall as you kicked your foot up behind you, pulling your dress up your ankle slightly to uncover your shoe. "My feet are killing me. I've got a blister on the back of this one that I've only just started feeling." You'd worn a pair of black heels, but not your usual pair. The ones you were wearing had a 4-inch stiletto heel, which brought you up to Owen's height. You hadn't thought about them all night, but as you walked down the promenade you couldn't ignore the pain on the back of your heel.

Jesus Christ, you thought, the one thing to go wrong tonight would be a blister, wouldn't it?

"Here," Vivian said, ratching through her bag. Her hand emerged holding a single circular plaster.

Owen took it off her between two fingers, motioning for you to move closer to him. "Give me your foot." He patted the front of his leg. You giggled, losing your balance slightly as you removed your hand from the wall to pull your shoe off. 

You put your bare foot on the front of his trousers, both hands on his shoulders for support. You watch his hands as he peels the back off the plaster, gently placing it over the red blister on the back of your foot. You wince as you feel the sting from the contact with the raw skin, inhaling a sharp breath through your teeth. Owen pressed the plaster down carefully, aware it wasn't comfortable. 

He chuckled slightly as you hopped on one foot, reaching for your shoe that stood next to the wall. You took a minute to slide your foot back into it.

"Okay?" he said, reaching an arm around your waist as you straightened back up. 

You nodded as he hugged you into his side. "Much better, thankyou hunny."

"Just in time." Lowery said, motioning his head back up the promenade towards the Innovation Centre, his arm back around Vivian. People were now flooding out of the Innovation Centre. Obviously it was nearing midnight.

"A whole year." you repeated, kissing Owen's cheek. It had gone so fast, you couldn't believe it. You could remember him kissing you for the first time exactly where you stood twelve months ago.

"I know, babe, I know." he said, looking out over the lagoon. He turned his head to face you. "I love you."

You smiled. "I love you too."

People began gathering around you, thankfully the four of you were right at the front of the crowd. You stood, waiting for what seemed like forever. Owen still had you hugged into his side, his hand on the other side of your hip. "Christ, babe. I'm not ready for this."

Owen chuckled, his face inches off yours. "Ready for what?"

"Midnight. Another year. I don't want this year to be over."

"Oh, hunny," he sighed, kissing your forehead. "We're gonna have another amazing year, okay? Plus, we've got our one year anniversary coming up..."

He let his voice trail off as you laughed, kissing him. You broke away, squeeling as people around you began counting down from sixty. Owen laughed, and you both began joining in with the counting.

Ten

  
Nine

  
Eight

  
Seven

  
Six

  
Five

  
Four

  
Three

  
Two

  
One

The crowd cheered a collective "Happy New Year!" and you crashed your lips hard against Owen's. You smiled against each others lips, his hand moving to your cheek. You giggled when you separated, your foreheads remaining together. You kissed again before you looked up at the sky, watching as the fireworks erupted over you. You moved your arm around Owen as he planted a kiss on the side of your forehead. He was right, you were going to have another amazing year.

You turned to Vivian and Lowery, smiling as Owen hugged Vivian and kissed her cheeks, and then even hugged Lowery, both of them patting each other's backs. Vivian stepped forwards to you, and you hugged her tightly, swaying side to side. Lowery held out his arms and you hugged him too as he kissed both your cheeks. 

"Oh, God!" Lowery exclaimed, watching as you wiped a tear off your cheek. "She's getting emotional! Someone help her!"

You laughed, grinning. "No, I'm just so happy. I love you guys."

"Oh, jeez, stop it before you set me off." Vivian said, bringing you in to another hug. You chuckled as you stepped back again, before being pulled into another embrace by Owen. You wrapped your arms over his shoulders as he rocked you side to side gently.

He didn't say anything, but just kissed you. You both smiled at each other, running your hands down his chest. 

"I'm such a sop!" you exclaimed, laughing as you turned around slightly so you could see Viv and Lowery. 

"C'mon," Lowery said, taking Vivian's hand. "I'm thinking a few rounds of tequila?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader's dress; http://www.marieprom.co.uk/product/unique-long-purple-tailor-made-evening-prom-dress-bnnaj0057-  
> Reader's hair; http://hairstylesforwomenvip.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/medium-hairstyles-for-prom-with-braids-284.jpg


	15. Not A Present, But A Question

"Good morning, baby," Owen whispered, placing a kiss on your forehead as you began to stir from your sleep. "Happy anniversary."

You smiled wearily, gradually opening your eyes. Owen was in bed next to you, leaning on his elbows as he watched you. You moved your hand to the back of his head, running your fingers through his hair.

"Happy anniversary, hunny." you spoke softly, pushing yourself up slightly to meet Owen's lips with yours. It was another beautiful morning on the island; the white bed sheet that was draped over your waists was glowing with the sunlight that shone through the window, and other than Owen you could just hear the birds singing in the trees outside. 

Heaven.

"You look so beautiful." Owen said, a lazy smirk plastered across his face. You chuckled, rubbing at your eyes as you lay on your back, head returning to your pillow. Back when you lived on your own in your apartment you slept in at least a pair of shorts and a vest, however now you'd become accustomed to sleeping with bare skin or one of Owen's shirts at the most. You rarely bothered with the latter, including last night. 

"Thanks." you murmured, resting your hands just above your head on your pillow as you closed your eyes again. "I'm so tired, but it's such a gorgeous morning."

"We could go for a walk." Owen mumbled, burying his face in your neck. He pressed his lips softly against your skin, hovering there for a while before leaving a trail of kisses down to your shoulder. 

"Mmm," you hummed, lying still again as Owen wrapped an arm over your waist. "The waterfall."

"Perfect." 

You remained snoozing for another ten minutes before you sat up, yawning. You looked next to you to find Owen had gone back to sleep. You smiled to yourself. Serves him right for waking up earlier than you.

You stood up out of bed, grabbing a few clothes out of your closet before going to the bathroom to shower. You opened and closed the bedroom door carefully, not wanting to wake Owen again, but as you closed the bathroom door you heard him emerge from the bedroom anyway. His footsteps were heavy and slow, probably going to the kitchen for breakfast. 

You showered quickly and got dressed, slinging your wet hair over one shoulder. You wandered down to the kitchen, where Owen in fact was. He was stood in his boxers, leaning on the counter whilst peeling an orange. 

"We're not gonna have time to go on a walk if you don't get dressed, Owen." you said, arms crossed on your chest, leaning on the door frame as you raised your eyebrows, smirking. 

He pushed himself forward off the counter, moving towards you. "Calm down, hunny. What other plans do we have today?" He planted a kiss on your forehead, and you couldn't resist smiling. "Hm? None. Chill out, babe, we've got all day to ourselves."

"Apart from everyone coming round at six," you smirked, looking up at him.

He nodded. "Apart from that."

You looked at each other for a moment, before rolling your eyes and laughing. You reached your hand to his cheek, kissing him once. "Please go get dressed. As much as I love you like this..." you said, running your hands over his shoulders and down his chest. 

He smirked. "Alright, I'm going." he begun down the hallway before turning back round to you. "Catch!"

You caught the now completely peeled orange he threw to you. You laughed, popping a piece in your mouth. "You know I love it when you cook breakfast."

.*.*.*.*.

The sun was still shining just as bright as you walked down the track to the waterfall, hand in hand through the forest. You passed a few walkers on the same path, smiling and politely saying hi. 

"Remember our first date down here?"

"Yeah," Owen chuckled. "I was so nervous."

You scoffed. "Hunny, no you weren't."

"I really was. I'd never taken a girl out properly for years, normally it was just... one night things..."

"I don't wanna know, I don't wanna know!" you exclaimed, turning your head away. 

Owen laughed, dropping your hand and instead wrapping his arm around you as you continued walking. "But then I spent a night with you, and things changed."

You smiled. "I'm glad."

You reached the clearing and the waterfall was in front of you. No matter how often you visited it, it still took your breath away. The water sparkled a deep blue under the sun and the grass around it was a lush green. You dropped Owen's hand, moving towards the edge of the pool.

"God, it's always so peaceful down here." you mumbled, closing your eyes briefly. You felt Owen behind you, snaking his arms around your hips as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

You took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I love you, Owen."

"I love you too."

You stayed there for another few moments before Owen turned you round to face him. You smirked, kissing him. You frowned as he pulled away, his gaze turning fixing on you as his voice deepened.

"I've got something for you." 

You laughed a little, looking at him knowingly. "I thought we agreed on no presents."

"Well, it's not really a present. More of a question." His hand moved to his back pocket, searching for something. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. 

He produced a small ring in between his thumb and finger. It was silver, with a small sparkling diamond encrusted in the centre. Nothing overstated or extravagant, and also without a box. 

"Owen..." you laughed, cocking your head to the side slightly. He held the ring out to you, watching as you eyed him and the ring cautiously. "What is this?"

"Oh, c'mon, hunny. You know what it is."

Your smile dropped and your eyes widened as you slapped your hand to your mouth. "Oh my God." You gasped. "Oh my God."

"Marry me."

You now had both hands over your mouth, tears welling in your eyes. There was only one word going round in your head.

You nodded your head fiercely, still in shock. "Yes." you mumbled, still underneath your hands. You moved them away, repeating yourself. "God, yes."

Owen's face broke into a relieved smile, and you swear you saw tears welling in his eyes too. He took your left hand, slipping the ring onto it. You laughed slightly, sniffling as a few tears of joy overflowed onto your cheeks. You flung your arms around his neck, burying your face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist in a tight lock. 

"I love you, and I never want to lose you." he said, moving back and taking your face in his hands. He wiped a few tears away with his thumbs.

"I love you so much." You repeated, kissing him. He smiled against your lips.

You leaned against his chest as his hand rested on your hip, and you stuck out your hand and admired the ring now decorating your finger. 

"It's beautiful, Owen. I'm so happy right now."

"Me too. I wanted it to be perfect."

You couldn't contain the smile spread across your face. "It's perfect, everything's perfect. The perfect place, the perfect day, the perfect man..." You chuckled. "I can't believe you had this in your back pocket."

"You notice goddamn everything, babe. You think I could have gotten a ring box down here in my pocket without you saying something?" he laughed, kissing your forehead.

You hugged him again, pressing your foreheads together one final time whilst whispering how much you loved each other. You would worry about telling your parents when you got back to the bungalow, and then you had to think about announcing it tonight in front of all your friends. But now, you just wanted to concentrate on you and Owen. Nothing was going to come between you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments on this story! I'm heading to Vietnam to do some work out there for a few weeks soon, so hopefully I'll begin another part to this story when I return. I hope you've enjoyed it, I definitely have! Thank you!!<3<3<3<3 xoxox


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